All concerns prior to the 16th Pan American Games about the strength of the U.S. team were answered within a few days of the competition starting.

After six days of intense sporting action, the “Star Spangled Banner” had been played on 34 occasions at the games’ various venues in the state of Jalisco.

Team USA’s nearest challenger in the medal table, Brazil, had accumulated 42 medals, a long way behind the United States’ impressive haul of 98.

“We’ve got a very young team and have some athletes who haven’t competed for us before,  so it’s a very pleasant surprise for them to do so well,” Patrick Sandusky, chief communications officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), told the Reporter this week. “Some people had asked if we were bringing the B team but we’ve shown that we’ve treated these games with the respect they deserve and brought very successful athletes to them.”

Success in Pan American Games is nothing new to the United States but Sandusky believes the athletes  have been able to thrive in Guadalajara thanks to some “great organization” by “our amazing hosts.”

Conditions in the athletes village are comfortable, he said, and the transport has “worked well so the athletes can get to their sports on time.”

USOC officials made several trips to Guadalajara in the past year to check on many aspects of the games and Sandusky never had any doubt that the event would not be a huge success.

“We had good expectations that the venues would be finished, that the athletes village would be ready and that the passion of the people would be there. All those things have proved true.”

Sandusky acknowledged the high quality of the venues, and singled out the Scotiabank Aquatics Center in the Parque Metropolitano for special praise.  Although no one in the U.S. swimming team is likely to win medals at the London Olympics next year, they have still managed to dominate in a pool that will host the 2017 World Swimming Championships. By Thursday evening, with just four finals to go on Friday, Team USA had won 16 of the 28 swimming gold medals contested.

Sandusky said the strong police presence in the city has been comforting to the entire U.S. delegation, which numbers around 1,000.  “We feel very safe and secure. Any games you go to there’s a focus by every organizing committee on proper security. That’s the world we live and the security here has been fantastic.”

Once their competitions have finished, Sandusky said the U.S. athletes and any accompanying family members will have more opportunity to visit some the area’s many attractions.