Buenos Aires (Argentina), July 29: The world champion women's Argentine field hockey team has high hopes for the upcoming Pan American games in Santo Domingo. The Argentine field hockey team's objective is to win the gold at the upcoming Pan American games for the second consecutive time since Winipeg in 1999, which would automatically put them in place to go to the Olympics next year in Athens, Greece. "The truth is that the Pan American Games isn't the most competitive," said player Luciana Aymar, "but for us, every tournament that we go to we want to win, and in the Pan Americans we think it's pretty accessible. For me, we're going to the finals. I hope we get to the finals, if we play, we'll play against the United States. I think we have to do the best we can against every team that we play against, right? " Luciana Aymar, who, like Diego Maradona, wears the number 10 on her jersey, has been noted for her unique talent, in particular her skilful dribbling and the stunning goals that she has exhibited at the Olympics and other competitions. Her creativity on the field brought her the best player award in the Sydney Olympics, where the team also won the "Fair Play" award. Argentina won the gold medal in Winnipeg '99 after beating the United States 5-1 and have been champions in 1974 in Mandelieu, in Berlin in 1976 and Dublin in 1994.

Held every four years during the summer preceding the Olympic Games, the Pan American Games present a showcase of world-class talent on a continental stage.

Competing in events ranging from traditional Olympic sports and disciplines to other internationally recognized sports such as bowling, karate and water skiing, over 5,000 athletes from 42 North American, South American, Central American and Caribbean countries will gather at the XIV Pan American Games, August 1-16, 2003 in the Dominican Republic.

Bureau Report