SANTIAGO – Thanks to a bronze medal from Para swimmer Jordan Tucker, Canada added to its podium total at the Santiago 2023 Parapan Am Games on Monday. Canadian athletes also reached semifinals in boccia and Para archery, with more round-robin games played across wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, goalball, and CP Football.
MEDALS WON ON NOVEMBER 20
BRONZE – Jordan Tucker, Para Swimming, Women’s S5 50m Butterfly
OVERALL MEDAL TOTAL
GOLD – 3
SILVER – 1
BRONZE – 7
TOTAL – 11
RESULTS SUMMARY
Para Swimming
Jordan Tucker made it three straight days of podium finishes for Canada in the pool, winning a bronze in the women’s 50m butterfly S5. This is the 21-year-old’s first Parapan Am medal, in her first multi-sport Games, and the podium came in the second of two consecutive races for her, making it all the more impressive. She finished sixth in the women’s 150m individual medley SM4 before jumping right back in the pool for the 50m butterfly.
“I feel amazing, I’m very happy to get a bronze,” said Tucker.
“For the 150 [IM], I took on water in the 50 breast part and I couldn’t get enough air, but after the turnoff of the free I did it and brought it home. For the fly, I just took that energy and went for it.”
In other results: Justine Morrier was fourth in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB14; Ruby Stevens, Canada’s first gold medallist on day one of the Games, was fifth in the women’s 200m individual medley SM6; Myriam Soliman sixth in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB7, with a personal best time of 2:20.05; and Jesse Canney sixth in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB14.
Para Archery
Kyle Tremblay advanced into the bronze medal match following a quarterfinal victory and semifinal loss in men’s compound action on Monday. Following a 139-126 victory over Ecuador’s Joffre Villavicencio in the quarters, Tremblay then just missed out on the chance to play for gold. Tied at 143-143 in the semifinals against Costa Rican Diego Quesada, it was a one-shot battle for the win and Tremblay’s shot was not closest to the target. However, with his performance, he has earned Canada a quota spot in the event for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The medal matches will go Wednesday.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to have qualified that spot,” Tremblay said. “It makes all my training I’ve done this past year worth it and puts everything into perspective on how hard you have to work for these types of things.”
Goalball
Canada’s women’s goalball team secured their first entry in the win column, defeating Peru 11-1 to bring their record to an even 1-1 with one round-robin game to go before the quarterfinals. Canada led 4-0 after the first half with the result never in doubt. Goal scorers were Emma Reinke with seven and Amy Burk with four.
“It was a really good game, full team effort,” said team member Meghan Mahon. “Everyone was able to get in and get a chance to show that our team is a defence-first team and it’s exciting to come off that game and roll into the next one.”
In the men’s tournament, Canada dropped a 5-4 decision to Argentina to finish preliminary play with a 1-2 record. Blair Nesbitt got Canada on the board early, a 1-0 lead they took into the half. The teams then exchanged goals in the second half to a score of 3-all before Argentina pulled ahead. Canada will now await the group’s final standings to see their position heading into the quarterfinals.
Wheelchair Rugby
Canada is now 4-0 with one game remaining in preliminary play. Playing two games on Monday, Canada posted a 60-27 victory over Chile before following it up with a 61-45 triumph opposite Colombia.
“They [Colombia] are a great team, they always come out hard, and they seem to get up for us and like to play us tight,” said co-captain Trevor Hirschfield following the team’s second win of the day. “We knew it was going to be a grind in the first half, we’re a team that plays for the second half, knowing we can wear them down. The rely on their top line and once they start getting tired, we break away from there.”
Rio Kanda Kovac, the youngest player on the team, continued to contribute to the scoring with 17 tries versus Chile and another 13 against Colombia.
“I’m really excited to be here, this is my first Games, and I just love to see all the athletes and everyone having a good time,” said Kanda Kovac, who just turned 21 years old this month. “It means a lot to me to be here, it’s been a long time coming, and I’m just trying to consume it every second of the way.”
Boccia
Three boccia players have secured their spots in the individual semifinals, while another two will be in the playoffs seeking a final four position following the end of play on Monday.
Alison Levine won 10-0 over Colombian Angie Navarrette to advance directly into the women’s BC4 semifinals, while Danik Allard also posted a win, 7-2 over Argentina’s Luis Cristaldo Diaz, to move into the men’s BC2 semis. Also into the final four is Lance Cryderman, who lost in his final preliminary match but secured his spot thanks to a top-two finish in his men’s BC1 group.
In men’s BC4 play, Marco Dispaltro went 1-1 on the day while Iulian Ciobanu was 0-1. Both finish second in their groups to move into the playoffs Tuesday with a place in the semifinals on the line.
Kristyn Collins won 7-1 against Chilean Andrea Guzman Palma in women’s BC2 action. She still has one preliminary match left on Tuesday morning.
Rounding out the results for the eight-member boccia squad, Joelle Guerette and Ryan Rondeau both dropped matches in women’s and men’s BC3 play and will not advance out of the round-robin.
Wheelchair Basketball
It was a nailbiter of a final preliminary game for the men’s wheelchair basketball team, who pulled off a 56-49 win over Argentina to finish 3-0. Tied 22-22 at the half, a strong third quarter put Canada up by seven heading into the fourth quarter, which would ultimately be the difference-maker. Argentina wouldn’t go away though, and kept it close before Canada was finally able to create some distance in the final minutes to secure the win.
Pat Anderson (19 points, 15 rebounds) and Colin Higgins (15 points, 10 rebounds) both posted double-doubles to lead Canada.
The men finish atop Group A and await the conclusion of Group B play to find out their opponent for Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
Wheelchair Tennis
In quad singles round of 16 action, Mitch McIntyre captured a 6-2, 6-3 win over Ecuadorian Edison Molina to move into the quarterfinals, where he joins Canada’s co-Opening Ceremony flag bearer Rob Shaw, who had a bye.
“I felt good, I’ve been getting more comfortable on the clay and my body’s been feeling better day by day,” said McIntyre, who finished fourth at the Lima 2019 Games. “I played a pretty comfortable first set, I got away from the game plan a bit in the second set, but I was able to adjust and do what I had to do to win. I was happy with the result in the end.”
Thomas Venos dropped a 6-3, 6-1 decision to American Connor Stroud in the men’s singles quarterfinals, but later picked up an opening doubles victory alongside partner Barry Henderson. In women’s doubles, Anne-Marie Dolinar and Natalia Lanucha lost in their first match.
CP Football
Canada is still looking for its first win in CP Football after losing to Chile 2-1 on Monday. Canada led 1-0 at the half thanks to a goal from Silviu Butnaru, but Chile scored two unanswered goals in the second half to take the win. Canada will have two more chances later this week to notch the win column as preliminary play continues through Thursday.
Shooting Para Sport
Doug Blessin finished fifth in the mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2 competition, matching his placement in the qualification round. Lyne Tremblay was ninth in qualification and did not advance to the final.
CLICK HERE for the complete results on Sunday November 20.
