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Canadian athletes used to competing abroad are full of praise for the cheering crowds  at the – and the chance to perform in front of family and friends.

“Nothing could prepare me for the crowd that came out,” said University of Toronto archer Crispin Duenas, who competed at U of T’s downtown campus. 

“Archery is a pretty low-key sport, evidenced by every competition I’ve ever been to. Having this really big crowd out here was a surprise.”

But what about the athletes who are not hometown heroes? Given Toronto’s diverse population and the thousands of visitors in town for the events, can all athletes at the Games find supporters cheering them on?

“Go Panama!” says student Marianna Cipponeri, in Toronto to study the English language at U of T. 

“Do I miss Panama? Yes and no. Because I feel at home here, and am very happy that Panama is here for the games.” 

Every year, U of T students pursue study abroad and research opportunities around the world, while thousands of international students make their home here. One such student is undergraduate Angela Zavaleta who just arrived at the University of Toronto Scarborough and plans to major in math and computer science.

“What I thought that was that there were not many Peruvians in Canada, but when I went to the stadiums there were a lot of Peruvians. It’s really nice to know that there are other people from Peru here, and that they are supporting our teams.”

The University also offers a summer program in English language that draws students from around the world, explains Becky Smith from the School of Continuing Studies.

“Particularly in Latin America, the fact that Pan Am was going to be on at this time encouraged students to come to study with us,” Smith says. “The diversity for this session for our general English program has been fantastic, and we have several students from the representative countries.”

Diana Montenegro is one of those students. “Of course I’m cheering for Colombia,” she says. 

Montenegro was disappointed when she couldn’t find tickets to watch fellow Colombian Mariana Pajon in the BMX competitions, but is hoping to find tickets for soccer or gymnastics in which she can watch Colombians play.

“I was here last month too so I can see the difference between the ‘normal’ Toronto, and this ‘special one’. It’s really nice because everywhere there are really kind people, and everything in the city is about the Pan Am games so that is so exciting – just walking in the street is exciting.”

Frederico Oliveira hadn’t realized the Games would be in town when he was at U of T but says he now feels very lucky to be part of the scene. Erik Carrizales, here from Mexico, says he is looking forward to watching the Mexican soccer team play, as well as watching his friend, a shooter, participate in the games.

“A lot of people from different countries are coming to watch Pan Am. It’s nice to see other people speaking Spanish.”

Even international students from countries not participating in the Games say they’ve gotten into the spirit. Japan’s Hyuga Uchida says the Games bring out the inclusive side of everyone.

“I watched a game between Canada and Brazil. I was so excited because I have wanted to cheer for Brazil in person for a long time. Brazil won, but Brazilian supporters cheered for the Canadian team, too. I don’t think the results matter because everyone enjoyed watching the game.” 

Krisha Ravikantharaja is a student at the University of Toronto.