10 top athletes to watch at the Pan Am Games

The Pan Am Games officially begin Friday in Toronto, with an estimated 6,135 athletes set to represent 41 countries in 364 events across 36 sports. There are going to be lots of elite athletes in that group, including the ones we spotlighted in April: all five Canadian Pan Am contenders from that piece will be competing, plus three of the four Americans* and all five of the Pan Am contenders from other countries. However, that list only scratches the surface of the top athletes who are going to be competing. Here's a look at 10 further top athletes to watch, across countries and sports.

Kadeisha Buchanan, Canada, soccer: The 19-year-old Buchanan was perhaps Canada's best player at the Women's World Cup, providing a revelatory performance at centre back with decisive tackles and skillful positioning. Despite her team's quarterfinal exit, she was named the tournament's top young player. Now, she'll get to be a leader on a young team that's up against veteran competition. The women's soccer tournament at the Pan Ams has no age restrictions (the men's is limited to players 22 and younger), but Canada is sending a U23 squad to give vital young players more experience ahead of next year's Olympics. World Cup teammates Ashley Lawrence, Jessie Fleming and Stephanie Labbé will be there with Buchanan, and they'll provide experience to a young squad that's looking to defend Canada's gold medal from the 2011 Pan Am Games. The Canadian women start with a match against Ecuador Saturday, July 11, then play Costa Rica on July 15 and Brazil on July 19, with the knockout and medal games following. All soccer matches are at the "CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium" (otherwise known as Tim Hortons Field).

Andre De Grasse, Canada, sprinter: Yahoo's Neate Sager described De Grasse as "Canadian sprinting's biggest thing since Donovan Bailey" last week, and it's an apt comparison. Competing for USC, De Grasse won both the 100 metres and the 200 metres at the NCAA championships in June, and he's already posted sub-9.9 second and sub-20 second times in those events (becoming the first Canadian in 15 years to break the 10-second barrier). At just age 20, he may still be on the rise, and the Pan Am Games could provide a great chance to see him before he becomes a world star. The 100 metres will start July 21 and finish July 22, while the 200 metres starts July 23 and finishes July 24. All track events take place at York University.

Allison Schmitt, United States, swimming: Schmitt is just 25 and has already won six Olympic medals; she picked up a bronze in Beijing in the 4X200m freestyle relay in 2008, then won five medals in London in 2012, including golds in the 200m freestyle (where she set a new Olympic record), the 4X200m freestyle relay and the 4X100m medley relay (where her team set a new world record), plus a silver in the 400m freestyle and a bronze in the 4X100m freestyle relay. With 12-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin (who we profiled in April), she's part of a talented roster of U.S. swimmers. The swimming events start July 14, and will be held at the new CIBC Pan Am / Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Field House at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

Iván García, Mexico, diving: The 21-year-old García won silver at the 2012 Olympics in synchronized 10m platform diving with German Sanchez, and he'll be competing in that event again at the Pan Am Games with a new partner, Jonathan Ruvalcaba. He'll also be competing in the individual 10m platform. He won gold in both of those events at the 2011 Pan Am Games. The gold medal winner in the 10m qualifies for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, so there are high stakes here for García. The men's 10m competition will be held July 12 at the aquatics centre.

Mark Oldershaw, Canada, canoeing: The 32-year-old Oldershaw was announced as Canada's Pan Am flagbearer last week, and he's carrying on a family legacy; he's a third-generation paddler, with his grandfather Bert competing in three Olympics and his father Scott (now a renowned coach) competing in the 1984 Olympics. Oldershaw won Olympic bronze in London in 2012 in the C-1 1000m, and he picked up two bronze medals in the 2013 world championships. He's leading a strong Canadian team here in his Pan Am debut. The C-1 1000m starts July 11, with the final on July 13. The flatwater canoe events take place at the Welland Flatwater Centre.

Claressa Shields, U.S., boxing: Shields is a boxing phenomenon, and she's come around at just the right time. Women's boxing became an Olympic event for the first time in 2012, and Shields dominated the middleweight tournament in London despite being just 17 at the time and only barely making it in after an upset loss at the world championships. She's continued her success since London, winning gold at the 2014 world championships. Now 20, Shields is still on the rise, and she'll look to continue that rise in this tournament. Women's boxing starts July 20 at the Oshawa Sports Centre, with the middleweight semifinals on July 21 and the finals on July 24.

Liliane Maestrini, Brazil, beach volleyball: Maestrini and Carolina Horta form an interesting Brazilian team. The 27-year-old Maestrini has had an impressive career to this point, winning gold at the 2007 youth world championships, three medals on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour (including a gold in London in 2011) and a bronze at the 2013 world championships. She's playing with a new partner in Horta, though. Maestrini is also one of the openly-gay athletes competing at this year's Pan Ams,  which has paid special attention to inclusion and will have a PrideHouse for the first time ever; she's married to former world champion Larissa França, who's now retired. Maestrini and Horta begin the tournament July 13 at Exhibition Place against Nicaragua, then face Chile July 14 and Costa Rica July 16. The knockout rounds begin July 17, with the final on July 21.

Rosie MacLennan, Canada, trampoline: The 26-year-old MacLennan was Canada's only gold medalist in the 2012 London Olympics, and she'll be one of the top faces of this Canadian team. She's also the defending Pan Am champion from 2011, and she won gold in the 2013 world championships and silver in the 2014 ones. She's heavily favoured in the women's individual trampoline competition, which starts July 18, with medals awarded on July 19. The trampoline competition takes place at the "Toronto Coliseum" (Ricoh Coliseum).

Sarah Hudek, U.S., baseball: The baseball and softball competitions at this year's Pan Am Games will be particularly interesting, as there will be men's and women's competitions in both sports (which are quite distinct). While lots of men play softball and lots of women play baseball, most past international competitions have only held men's baseball tournaments and women's softball tournaments. That's changing, and the 18-year-old Hudek is a part of that on several levels. The daughter of former MLB all-star pitcher John Hudek, she's a lefty pitcher with a mid-80s fastball who can also play the outfield, and she drew headlines earlier this year by accepting a scholarship to play college baseball on a men's team at Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana. She's one of a growing number of women looking to play top-tier baseball rather than softball, and she'll be someone to watch at these Games. The baseball competitions are held at the President's Choice Ajax Pan Am Ballpark, with the men's running from July 11 to 19 and the women's running from July 20 to July 26. Hudek and the U.S. women face Venezuela on the 20th, then Cuba on the 22nd, Puerto Rico on the 23rd and Canada on the 24th before the medal-round games on the 25th and 26th.

Steve Mullaley, Canada, softball: Canada should be thrilled about the return of softball to the Pan Am Games, especially on the men's side. While the Canadian women's team is strong too, Canada has a remarkable history of success in men's softball, winning every Pan Am gold medal from 1978 until the men's competition was dropped in 2003. There are plenty of great Canadian athletes here, too; the Canadian men's fastpitch team just won the world championship in Saskatoon with a 10-5 victory over New Zealand this past weekend, and a lot of those players will be at the Pan Ams. The 31-year-old Mullaley is one of them; an outfielder from Freshwater, Newfoundland, he's represented Canada at the senior level since 2007, and has an impressive list of accomplishments. Mullaley led the way for Canada in the world championships, hitting four home runs and driving in nine runs over two games. We'll see what he can do at the Pan Am level. The men's competition starts July 12 in Ajax, and Mullaley and Canada will face Mexico that night, the U.S. July 13, Argentina July 14, the Dominican Republic July 15 and Venezuela July 16th before the medal-round games on the 17th and 18th.

*American decathlete Ashton Eaton is the only Pan Am contender from our April list not taking part in these Games; he's sitting out thanks to a recent injury. However, he'll still be there to cheer on his wife, Canadian heptathlete Brianne Theisen-Eaton