SANTIAGO, Chile — The Pan American Games podium featured a healthy lineup of successful Canadians on Friday, as they added 13 medals to the country's impressive collection.
Canada added three gold, five silver and five bronze on Day 14, giving Canada 139 medals in total.
The United States leads with 234 medals, including 100 gold, while Brazil has 56 gold and 164 medals, followed by Canada with 40 gold, 44 silver and 55 bronze. Mexico is fourth with 112 medals, including 41 gold.
Canada's sprint canoe and kayak team produced five medals, including three gold, on the first day of finals at the Pan American Games.
Michelle Russell of Fall River, N.S., was victorious in women's 500-metre K-1 kayak in the San Pedro de la Paz lagoon southwest of Santiago.
Alix Plomteux of Lac-Beauport, Que., and Craig Spence of Dartmouth, N.S., won the men's C2 500.
Ian Gaudet of Dartmouth and Simon McTavish of Oakville, Ont., were first in the men's K2 500.
Courtney Stott, Natalie Davison, Riley Melanson and Toshka Besharah were silver medallists in the women's K4 500 behind Mexico.
Sophia Jensen of Chelsea, Que., took bronze in the women's C1200.
With one day of competition remaining for Canadian fencers, the team boosted its medal tally to 10 after capturing silver in both the men's team foil and women's team sabre.
The Canadian men's field hockey team collected bronze and secured the final berth in the Paris 2024 Olympics qualifier, which will be held in January.
Claudia Laos-Loo of Surrey, B.C., grabbed bronze in the women's individual kata during her Pan Am Games karate debut.
Canadian sailors picked up two medals. Ali ten Hove (Kingston, Ont.) and Mariah Millen (Toronto) won silver in the women’s skiff (49er FX) while Will Jones (Jerseyville, Ont.) and Justin Barnes (Pickering, Ont.) took bronze in the men’s skiff (49er).
Both duos qualified spots for Canada for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in their respective events as the top boat in their class from North America and the Caribbean that was not already qualified.
Canadians added a silver medal in squash on Day 14 from a mixed doubles pair making their Pan Am Games debuts: George Crowne (Oakville, Ont.) and Nicole Bunyan (Victoria, B.C.).
The Canadian women’s water polo defeated Brazil to advance to Saturday's gold-medal match. The team will play Team USA in hopes of capturing gold and securing an Olympic berth for Paris 2024. The Canadian men will play for the bronze medal.
In artistic swimming, Canada captured bronze in the mixed team event. The team event underwent significant changes from previous Pan Am Games, following the new Olympic format in which the winner was determined by the aggregate score from three different performances: the technical routine, the free routine, and acrobatic routine.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2023.
The Canadian Press
