A team of Pan American Games medalists gives Mexico and the Americas its first medal of the World Championships taking place in Doha, Qatar from February 2-18.
The Americas are represented by an outstanding 39 countries and 388 individual athletes at the global event, including several medalists from the Pan American Games who now seek to add World Championship medals to their impressive resumes as well as qualifying times for the Paris 2024 Olympics this July.
The 2024 World Aquatics Championships are now underway in Doha, Qatar where the world’s best athletes in the sports of swimming, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming, high diving and water polo will compete for medals.
Mexico has already claimed the first medal of the event for the Americas thanks to an outstanding performance by Gabriela Agundez, Randall Willars, Jahir Ocampo and Aranza Vazquez in the mixed 3m and 10m platform team diving event. The team finished second behind Great Britain to earn the silver medal. The impressive quad has combined for seven medals at the Pan American Games, with Agundez and Willars each claiming two gold medals at Santiago 2023 last October.
Several countries of the Americas are favorites to follow Mexico’s suit and claim medals at the World Championships led by impressive delegations from the United States (65), Canada (49), Mexico (44), Brazil (35) and Colombia (22).
However, some of the best swimmers in the world will not be competing at the event due to conflicts with their training for the Paris 2024 Olympics this July. Among them is the Canadian superstar and Team Panam Sports Ambassador, Maggie Mac Neil, who claimed five golds and seven total medals at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games last October.
In total, the Americas are represented by 39 countries with 388 athletes competing in Doha, including: Antigua and Barbuda (4), Argentina (8), Aruba (5), Bahamas (4), Barbados (2), Bermuda (1), Bolivia (4), Brazil (35), Canada (49), Cayman Islands (3), Chile (12), Colombia (22), Costa Rica (12), Cuba (11), Dominica (1), Dominican Republic (11), Ecuador (5), El Salvador (7), Grenada (2), Guatemala (6), Guyana (2), Haiti (2), Honduras (4), Jamaica (6), Mexico (44), Nicaragua (2), Panama (4), Paraguay (3), Peru (9), Puerto Rico (12), Saint Kitts and Nevis (2), Saint Lucia (4), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2), Suriname (2), Trinidad and Tobago (2), United States (65), Uruguay (7), Venezuela (10) and the Virgin Islands (2).
In addition to the 388 individual athletes from these countries, the Americas will also compete for medals in the men’s and women’s water polo tournaments. On the men’s side, Brazil and the United States begin group play on February 5, with the teams seeking to claim the first ever medal for the Americas at the World Championships.
In the women’s tournament beginning February 4, the United States, Brazil and Canada will seek to conquer the podium. The U.S. team aims to win its impressive eighth gold at the event and hopes to reclaim the title lost in 2024 when the country failed to medal for the first time since winning four consecutive golds from 2015 to 2022.
Learn more about the top individual athletes competing at Doha 2024 below.
UNITED STATES
In individual events, Team USA brings a strong contingent of athletes to the championships. Two swimmers are seeking to defend their 2023 World Championship titles, including Kate Douglass (200m medley) and Hunter Armstrong (50m backstroke). Athletes Katie Grimes, Nic Fink and Carson Foster also want to repeat their success from the 2023 edition and add more medals to their collections.
Several medalists from the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games are also competing in Doha for Team USA, including swimmers Jake Foster (4x gold medalist) and Jack Aikins (3x gold medalist), divers Hailey Hernandez (2x bronze medalist) and Krysta Palmer (bronze medalist) as well as Megumi Field and Ruby Remati in artistic swimming (2x silver medalists). They are joined by Lima 2019 diving champion Sarah Bacon and Olympic silver medalist and Lima 2019 bronze medalist diver Andre Copobianco.
CANADA
As the next largest delegation, Team Canada also has a strong group of athletes ready to set their sights on the podium. They are led by swimmer Taylor Ruck who is a 4x Olympic medalist and 13x World Championship medalist. She is joined in the pool by Santiago 2023 champions Finlay Knox and Sydney Pickrem, as well as Lima 2019 champion Tessa Cieplucha.
The diving team features 3x Pan Am Games champion and 4x World Championship medalist Pamela Ware, Lima 2019 champion Caeli McKay and the pair of 2x silver medalists at Santiago 2023, Mia Valle and Nathan Zsombor-Murray. In artistic swimming, 2x Lima 2019 champion Jacqueline Simoneau headlines the team.
MEXICO
In addition to diving stars Gabriela Agundez and Randal Willars, Mexico’s team also features Osmar Olvera who won three gold medals at Santiago 2023 as well as two silvers at the 2023 World Championships. These three stars are joined by Team Panam Sports Ambassador Alejandra Orozco who is a 2x Olympic medalist and 5x Pan Am Games medalist, including her first gold at Santiago 2023.
The artistic swimming team is led by Nuria Diosdado and Joana Jimenez who combined to win two gold medals at Santiago 2023. In the swimming events, the team is led by Santiago 2023 medalists Jorge Iga (silver 200m freestyle), Maria Jose Mata (silver 200m butterfly), Miguel de Lara (bronze 100m breaststroke) and Paulo Strehlke (bronze open water 10km).
BRAZIL
The Brazilian team is led by several veteran swimmers as well as rising stars in the pool. Four-time Santiago 2023 champion Guilherme Costa headlines the team. He is joined by 2x Santiago 2023 champion Brent Correia and Santiago 2023 champion and 5x medalist Stephanie Balduccini, with Balduccini also owning an incredible seven gold medals from the Cali 2021 Junior Pan American Games.
In open water swimming, the superstar and Olympic champion Ana Marcela Cunha is seeking her eighth World Championship title in the event after claiming the silver medal at Santiago 2023 and gold medal at Lima 2019. The artistic swimming team is led by Santiago 2023 bronze medalists Laura Miccuci and Gabriela Regly, while the diving team is led by Santiago 2023 bronze medalists Giovanna Pedroso.
COLOMBIA
Colombia’s delegation will be strongest in the diving events, with 3x Santiago 2023 medalist Luis Uribe and Lima 2019 champion Daniel Restrepo competing for the podium. In swimming, the Cali 2021 champion and 3x medalist Juan Morales aims for his first World Championship medal.
CHILE
After an impressive showing at Santiago 2023 with a silver medal, the legendary Kristel Kobrich returns to the pool in Doha. The Guadalajara 2011 champion and 5x Pan Am Games medalist seeks the first World Championship medal of her illustrious career.
CUBA
Anisley Garcia – 2x Cali 2021 champion and 3x medalist in women’s diving
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Jonathan Ruvalcaba – Santiago 2023 silver medalist in diving
VENEZUELA
Alfonso Mestre – Santiago 2023 3x medalist in swimming
Maria Victoria Yegres – Cali 2021 champion in swimming
ARGENTINA
Ulises Saravia – Santiago 2023 silver medalist in swimming
Macarena Ceballos – Santiago 2023 bronze medalist in swimming
Cecilia Biagioli – Lima 2019 silver medalist in open water swimming
URUGUAY
Nicole Frank – Cali 2021 champion in swimming
JAMAICA
Yona Knight-Wisdom – Lima 2019 silver medalist in diving
GUATEMALA
Erick Gordillo – Cali 2021 champion and 2x medalist in swimming
Roberto Bonilla – 2x Cali 2021 medalist in swimming
ECUADOR
Esteban Enderica – Lima 2019 champion in open water swimming
ARUBA
Patrick Groters – 2x Cali 2021 champion and 3x medalist in swimming
BAHAMAS
Lamar Taylor – Santiago 2023 bronze medalist in swimming
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Dylan Carter – 3x World Championship medalist and Lima 2019 bronze medalist in swimming
COMPETITION SCHEDULES
Diving – February 2-10
Artistic Swimming – February 2-10
Open Water Swimming – February 3-4; 7-8
Water Polo – February 4-17
Swimming – February 11-18
High Diving – February 13-15
Panam Sports congratulates all of the athletes at the Americas who are representing their countries and wishes them all nothing but success at Doha 2024.
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