Canadian Parapan Am Team on Day 5: A parade to the podium with 10 medals

LIMA – Tuesday was a busy day for the Canadian Parapan Am Team, as it captured three gold medals, six silver, and one bronze across four sports – Para cycling, Para athletics, Para swimming, and wheelchair rugby. Canada has now won 27 medals through five days of competition at the Lima 2019 Parapan Am Games.  

MEDAL CHART:

TOP HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY

Canada’s Para cyclists continued to excel at the velodrome, winning three medals for the second consecutive day. In the women’s tandem time trial, Canada stood atop the first two steps of the podium once again, with Annie Bouchard and pilot Evelyne Gagnon pulling off a gold medal time of 1:15.310, and fellow Canadians Carla Shibley and pilot Meghan Lemiski finishing in 1:16.132 for the silver. This is a flip of the result from one day ago in the individual pursuit, with both teams now owning a gold and silver medal from these Games. In the men’s tandem time trial, Lowell Taylor and pilot Andrew Davidson missed out on a podium spot by just a tenth of a second.  

“It is just amazing, it’s a great feeling. To represent Canada, we have fought so much, and made so many sacrifices and there are no words today, just wow.”
– Annie Bouchard 

Marie-Claude Molnar, a Games veteran with two Paralympic Games and two Parapan Am Games to her name, also added a silver medal for Canada at the velodrome. The C4 racer qualified in second for the women’s C4-5 individual pursuit final, where she ultimately finished behind American Samantha Bosco. This is Molnar’s second Parapan Am medal in the individual pursuit after a bronze at Guadalajara 2011. 

It was another golden night in men’s S14 action in the pool as Canada won its third gold in the classification. After Nicholas Bennett won two golds over the past two nights, it was Tyson MacDonald’s turn to reach the top of the podium. He finished first in the 100m backstroke in a time of 1:04.24, a day after winning a bronze. He had a strong final 50 to overtake the lead and never looked back. Bennett finished fourth. 

“The feeling of winning hasn’t set in yet but it’s incredible. I had a lot of confidence, I put up a good time this morning in the prelims, and I used that for fuel tonight to try to get the gold and I did just that.”
– Tyson MacDonald 

Three more Para swimmers also won their second medal of these Games on Tuesday. Angela Marina and Krystal Shaw each earned a silver medal, in the women’s S14 100m backstroke and S7 100m backstroke, respectively. Arianna Hunsicker claimed the fourth medal of the night, a bronze in the women’s S10 100m backstroke. Canada has now accumulated 10 medals in the pool in only three days.

 “It’s been great. I had a voice in the back of my head that said maybe I might get a medal but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. After eight years not being in the sport and then coming back, this is like my redemption. I’m ready for Tokyo, that’s what I want.”
– Krystal Shaw

“I’m so happy right now, that was such a good race for me. I’ve been looking forward to the 100 back since the Games started. It’s one of my better strokes and I’m one step closer to where I need to be for next year so I couldn’t be happier.”
– Arianna Hunsicker

Canada’s Para track and field athletes added a gold and a silver medal on the day. F38 discus thrower Jennifer Brown won her second Parapan Am Games medal in the discipline, tossing a season-best 29.35. In his first Parapan Am Games, 18-year-old Zachary Gingras raced to a silver medal in the T38 400m final with a time of 53.16 seconds, a personal best. He originally finished in third but was bumped up to silver following a lane infraction by a Mexican runner. 

“I feel super excited. After Rio we made a lot of changes to my technique and this was the first time we were able to test them in a multi sports setting which is obviously different from other competitions. I’m very happy with how it went today. To better my result from silver to gold from the last Parapan Ams is totally sweet. There’s no better feeling than winning. I feel my persistence is paying off. I keep trying things and if they don’t work I keep on grinding.”
– Jennifer Brown 

Canada fell just short of defending its Parapan Am Games title in wheelchair rugby, dropping a 58-47 decision to the USA in the gold-medal game. The Canadians trailed just 14-12 after the first quarter, but their opponents were able to pull ahead as the game went on. Canada will now go home with the silver medal. The team ends the event with a 5-2 record, those two defeats coming at the hands of their American rivals. With the final loss, Canada has not secured an automatic berth in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and will need to play in a last-chance qualification tournament next year. 

The Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team concluded round-robin play with a 3-0 record following a 79-21 triumph over Mexico. The result was never in doubt as Canada took control of the game from the first minute of play, with all 12 players contributing to the score line. They finish first in their group and will move into a semifinal duel with Brazil set for Thursday. 

On the men’s side, Canada also finished the preliminary stage 3-0 thanks to a 79-73 victory against Argentina in the late game on Tuesday. They trailed by one point at the half before taking over in the third quarter. The men’s tournament moves into the quarterfinals stage, with Canada now set to challenge Peru in a game to be played Wednesday. 

In sitting volleyball, Canada will be playing for bronze in both the men’s and women’s tournament following losses in the semifinals. Facing the USA for the second straight day, the Canadian men suffered the same result and fell in straight sets, while the women had the same fate against Brazil. Both squads will now play in the bronze medal games on Wednesday, where they will aim to match their third-place results from Toronto 2015. 

Wheelchair tennis action saw Rob Shaw and Mitch McIntyre both make their Parapan Am Games debuts with quarterfinal victories in the quad singles draw. No. 2 seed Shaw earned a 6-1, 6-1 win over Chilean Pablo Araya while McIntyre ousted Peruvian Martin Ordonez by the same 6-1, 6-1 score. With two Canadians in the semifinals, the nation is now guaranteed at least one medal, in what will be only the second wheelchair tennis medal won at a multi-sport Games by Canada. In men’s doubles action, Thomas Venos and Jonathan Tremblay fell to the No. 1-seeded team in the quarterfinals in straight sets. 

Round-robin play continued in goalball, with the men concluding their preliminary round with a 14-13 loss to Venezuela. They will now take on Argentina in the quarterfinals. The women defeated Costa Rica 10-0, implementing the ‘mercy rule’ to end the match before the half. They now sit 2-1 with round-robin duels with Mexico and the USA still to come. 

For the complete Canadian Parapan Am Team results on August 27, please CLICK HERE.