RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS AT THE PAN AM GAMES#

The Pan American Games Santiago 2023 will have high stakes for the U.S. athletes. This is the final opportunity for American rhythmic gymnasts to qualify for Paris 2024 in the individual all-around (Evita Griskenas, Lili Mizuno) and group (Izzy Connor, Gergana Petkova, Katrine Sakhnov, Karolina Saverin, Hana Starkman) competitions. In Santiago, the U.S. must win or place second in order to punch their tickets to Paris.

Four years ago in Lima, Team USA dominated rhythmic competition. The squad won almost every individual gold medal, and led the overall rhythmic gymnastics medal table with 25 medals to Brazil’s 16. Team USA is looking to continue this streak as it heads to the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. During the upcoming games, the Brazilians will pose the biggest challenges to both the women’s and men’s artistic teams.

• Evita Griskenas — Griskenas is a 2020 Tokyo Olympian in individual competition and a nine-time U.S. rhythmic champion. She was a quadruple gold medalist at the 2019 Pan Am Games, winning the all-around, hoop, ball, and ribbon. She won the Next Gen Female Athlete Award at the 2019 Pan Am Sports Awards and is a six-time World Championships team member. Griskenas currently attends Columbia University and is set to graduate in 2024.
  
• Lili Mizuno — A 2020 Tokyo Olympian (group competition), Mizuno is a two-time World Championships team member and a four-time U.S. tittle winner as an individual gymnast.Mizuno also claimed a U.S. all-around title with the Senior National Group at the USA Gymnastics Championships in 2021.