Some top athletes likely to be at the Pan Am and ParaPanAm Games in 100 days

Wednesday marked 100 days until the official start of the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto on July 10, with the Parapan Am Games to follow on August 7, and the roster of who's likely to attend is starting to fill out. The 2015 edition will see 36 sports contested, and the entire Olympic program will be represented for the first time ever, with direct or indirect qualification opportunities for the 2016 Summer Olympics available in 19 sports (the most ever). There will also be non-Olympic sports such as baseball, wakeboarding and karate, plus sports to be added to the Olympics in 2016 such as golf and rugby sevens. This is the third-largest international multi-sport event in the world (behind the Olympics and the Asian Games), and it's going to see over 6,000 athletes attend. Here's a look at some of the top athletes either confirmed or likely to attend:

Canada: 

Ryan Cochrane, swimming: Cochrane is a two-time Olympic medalist in the 1500m freestyle, winning bronze in 2008 and silver in 2012. He's expected to lead a top group of Canadian swimmers, which has been further enhanced by the world championships being moved back. Swimming Canada CEO Ahmed El-Awadi told Kerry Gillespie of The Toronto Star his organization plans to send its top talents:

“We’re going to bring our best of the best. Having Canadians compete at home and watching Canadians be on the podium, it’s a rare opportunity."

Damian Warner, decathlon: Warner shone at the London Olympics in 2012, finishing fifth, and at just 25, there may be even brighter days ahead for him. He won gold at the Commonwealth Games last year and is seen as a medal threat in Rio in 2016. Many decathletes, including reigning Olympic gold medalist Ashton Eaton of the U.S., will only be competing in a couple of events in Toronto to rest for the later world championships, but Warner plans to do the full decathlon. “You don’t get many opportunities to compete in Canada on a big world stage so you’ve got to take advantage of it,” he told Gillespie. “This is my event and I’d like to win it at home.” He'll be one of many Canadian track and field stars to compete, as Athletics Canada has taken the rare step of sending its top two athletes in each event.

Michelle Li, badminton: Li and then-partner Alex Bruce made an unexpected appearance in the 2012 Olympic semifinals following the "Shuttlegate" scandal, but Li's gone on to further stardom since. She won gold in singles at last year's Commonwealth Games, Canada's first-ever such medal. Joe Morissette, the executive director of Badminton Canada, told The Star's Paul Hunter last fall that “She really now is becoming the face of our sport in Canada.” The 23-year-old Li has been prominently featured in a Citizenship and Immigration Canada video, and she has the chance to become an even bigger star in the days ahead.

Ian Millar, equestrian: The Canadian equestrian team for the PanAms hasn't been officially announced, but it tends to draw the best, and Millar is that. He has nine PanAm medals, the most of anyone in the sport, and he's competed in 10 Olympics.

Shawn Delierre, squash: Delierre is currently the top-ranked Canadian in the Professional Squash Association's world rankings, coming in at #55. He's been a PanAm force in the past, picking up silver in team events in both 2007 and 2011 and bronze in singles in both tournaments. Squash had a chance to become an Olympic sport in 2016, but was bypassed in favour of wrestling, so this is one of the top national tournaments for it, and Squash Canada got $40,000 in funding heading into these PanAms. Delierre's found some success recently too, picking up two PSA World Tour titles last year. Canada's historically dominated PanAm squash and has produced some great players like former world #1 Jonathon Power; we'll see if Delierre and others can keep that going this year.

Beniot Huot, swimming: Huot has won an incredible 19 Paralympic medals, including nine golds, over the years. In London in 2012, he won gold in the 200m individual medley, silver in the 400m freestyle, and bronze in the 100m backstroke. He's only 31, but he's one of the Canadian Paralympic team's most experienced swimmers, and he'll be leading a strong group (including 15 Paralympians) at the ParaPan Am Games this year.

United States: 

Mariel Zagunis, fencing: Zagunis has two Olympic golds and also won two titles at the 2011 PanAms. She's hoping to follow a family legacy in this year's PanAm Games:

For Zagunis, qualifying for the Pan Ams (the U.S. fencing team will be announced June 1) would offer an important tune-up for the coming Olympic year. The Games also have a familial connection with her parents, Robert and Cathy, Olympic rowers at the 1976 Montreal Games, that keeps her coming back.

“Both competed in the Pan Ams in Venezuela (in 1983),” said Zagunis, who won two titles at the 2011 Pan Am Games. “It’s in my blood for sure.”

Natalie Coughlin, swimming: Coughlin has 12 Olympic medals,  including six from 2008. That total of 12 puts her in a tie for first as the most-decorated American female Olympian, and at 32, she may have more to come. Coughlin will lead a U.S. swimming team that has four other Olympic champions on its PanAm roster.

Kim Rhode, shooting: Rhode has three Olympic gold medals, more than anyone else, and five Olympic medals overall. The PanAm shooting competition offers a chance to directly qualify for the 2016 Olympics, so you can bet she'll want to be in top form.

Ashton Eaton, track and field: Unlike Warner, reigning Olympic gold medalist decathlete Eaton won't be competing in the full decathlon in Toronto. He and wife Brianne Thiesen-Eaton, a Canadian heptathlon star (which has seen them dubbed "the world's most athletic couple") are both expected to take part in some PanAm competitions, though.

Other countries: 

Caterine Ibargüen, Colombia, triple jump: Ibargüen won silver at the 2012 Olympics and is expected to be a favourite this year.

Roberto Skyers, Cuba, 200 metres: Skyers won gold in the 2011 Pan Am games, and he also won gold in last November's Central American and Caribbean Games. He's also just 23, and looks like a star on the rise.

Paola Longoria, Mexico, racquetball: Like squash, racquetball isn't currently an Olympic sport, so this is one of the top competitions for it. Longoria is a two-time reigning world champion who's expected to compete in Toronto. She's also the first woman to hold the world championships in singles and doubles concurrently.

Luguelin Santos, Dominican Republic, 400 metres: Santos picked up a silver medal in the 400 at the 2012 Olympics at just the age of 18. He's competed in the Pan Am Games before too, picking up both individual and team silvers at age 17 in 2011.

Mariana Pajón, Columbia, BMX: Pajon won gold in the 2012 Olympics and has won four world championship golds, including the last two. The 23-year-old has become one of the dominant forces in the BMX world and is looking for another gold in Toronto.

Daniel Dias, Brazil, swimming: The 26-year-old Dias is already a major force in the swimming world, winning nine medals (and four golds) in the 2008 Paralympics and adding six more golds in 2012. He won his second Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award in 2013.

(Correction: this piece initially called rugby sevens and golf non-Olympic sports. Both will be added to the Olympic program in 2016.)