2023 U.S. Pan American Water Ski Team Selected
by Scott N. Atkinson
USA Water Ski & Wake Sports is pleased to announce the selections for the 2023 U.S. Pan American Water Ski Team that will compete in the XIX Pan American Games. The 2023 Pan American Games will take place Oct. 20-Nov. 5 in Santiago, Chile. The water ski and wakeboard events will take place Oct. 21-24 at Laguna Los Morros in San Bernardo, Chile.
Water ski athletes selected to the 2023 U.S. Pan American Water Ski Team were: Anna Gay (Winter Garden, Fla.), Regina Jaquess (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.), Erika Lang (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Nate Smith (McCordsville, Ind.). The American Water Ski Association’s International Activities Committee selected the water ski athletes based on a pre-determined selection criteria. Mary Morgan Howell (Dothan, Ala.) and Daniel Johnson (Statesville, N.C.) were selected by USA Wakeboard to represent the team as the wakeboard athletes following the 2023 Pan American Games Team Trials in April in Auburndale, Fla. The 2023 U.S. Pan American Water Ski Team is subject to final approval by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
Chris Travers (Groveland, Fla.) will be the coach and Dr. Brad Harman (Alvarado, Texas) will be the team physician.
The Pan American Games takes place every four years in the year preceding the Olympic Games, and it is the third-largest multi-sport event in the world behind the Summer Olympic and Winter Olympic Games. Six U.S. Pan American Water Ski Team members combined to win eight medals, including five gold, in respective events at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. The U.S. Pan American Water Ski Team finished with five gold medals, two silver and one bronze during the four-day competition.