A Brief Background:

Hosted in Toronto, the Pan American Games are the third-largest international multi-sport meeting, only behind the Summer Olympics and the Asian Games. The event takes place every four years, always the year before the summer Olympics. For track and field, two athletes are selected to represent their country. The Pan American Games go from July 10th - July 26th, with the first running event starting on July 18th. Check out the full schedule here!

Take a look at our five races to watch at this years Pan American Games!

5. Men's 1500m - Kyle Merber & Andrew Wheating

Kyle Merber will team up with Andrew Wheating in hopes of a 1-2 finish for the USA in this years 1500m. Merber has already done his fair share of racing in Europe following his sixth place finish at USA’s. He ran a 4:01 mile at a very windy Cork City Sports, and ran a new PR of 7:52.95 in the 3K in Madrid. Andrew Wheating’s fifth place finish at USA’s was the last time he raced.

4. Men's 100m - Andre De Grasse

Representing Canada in the 100m/200m will be none other than collegiate sensation Andre De Grasse. De Grasse, who already qualified for Bejing this summer will be looking to better his 9.95 PB which he ran at the Canadian national championships. The 20-year-old made a name for himself after he ran a 9.75 wind aided (+2.9) against the favorite Trayvon Bromell in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Representing the USA will be Remontay McClain and BeeJay Lee, who have run 10.07 and 9.99 this year respectively.

3. Women's 1500m - Kerri Gallagher & Cory McGee

Kerri Gallagher shocked the running world when she crossed the line in third place against a very stacked 1500m field at the US Outdoor Championships. To put things in perspective, her PB before USA’s was 4:09. She ran a new PB of 4:08 in the prelims, and then finished 3rd in a tactical final in 4:15. She had the 3rd place finish she needed to run in Bejing, but still needed the standard (4:06.50), which required another two second improvement.

Gallagher got it done, running a 4:03.56 to win the Lignano meet just last week in Italy. Joining her on the line will be New Balance runner Cory McGee. McGee finished 11th at this year’s 1500m final, and has a seasonal best of 4:09.65, coming from the prelims at USA’s.

2. Women's 800m - Phoebe Wright, Alysia Montano & Melissa Bishop

Alysia Montaño is the only female U.S. Champion competing in the Pan-Am games this year. Montaño won the loaded women's 800m final in Eugene less than a year after giving birth to her first child, running a season's best of 1:59.15.

Alongside Montaño will be Phoebe Wright, who’s run 2:00.61 so far this season, and finished sixth at the US Championships. Melissa Bishop will be representing Canada along with Jessica Smith. Bishop, the Canadian runner-up in the event, just set a new PR of 1:59.52 in Luzern, while Jessica Smith’s seasonal best came from the Portland Track Festival where she ran 2:01.07.

1. Men's 5K - Garrett Heath, David Torrence & Cam Levins

Canadian record holder Cam Levins will face-off against Garrett Heath, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for Bejing by nine-hundredths of a second. On top of his fourth place finish, Heath also recorded a 13:16.31 PR at the Payton Jordan Invite, and essentially matched his PR this year at the Portland Track Festival where he ran a 3:34.13, second only to Evan Jager’s 3:32.96. Levins' PB is 13:15.19 from 2013.

David Torrence, one of the most versatile distance runners in the country, has had decent success during 2015. With 300m to go in the 5K at USA’s, Torrence was in a good position to qualify, but didn’t have the leg speed in him that day to close against the likes of his competitors. His seasonal best for the 5K came from the Portland Track Festival where he ran 13:30.35.