The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 1 to 17 August 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America.
All 42 Panam Sports (PASO) countries and over 5,223 athletes pre-registered for the participation in the Games. An additional 2,425 trainers and delegates attended. The US pre-registered the most athletes (713) and Saint Lucia entered the least (6). The host country entered 562 athletes.
The mascot was a tank top clad manatee named Tito.
