Paddlers, rowers add to medals
Canadian divers, shooters also boost standings
Canada’s paddlers and rowers kept the medals coming on Day 3 of the Pan American Games.
Led by gold-medal performances by the men’s coxless four and the women’s double sculls, Canadian rowers combined to add three more medals to Canada’s impressive early haul on Monday.
“It was pretty amazing. It sent goosebumps down my spine,” said veteran rower Will Crothers who could hear the vocal hometown crowd in St. Catharines, Ont., as the men’s four — Crothers, Tim Schrijver of Thedford, Ont., Kai Langerfeld of Parksville, B.C., and Conlin McCabe of Brockville, Ont. — entered their final 500-metre sprint. “I started thinking, we’re sitting up (starting the final sprint). I yelled to the boys, ‘Who wants to sing?’
“I think that probably fired them up pretty good. I think the (stroke) rate went up. We started really chucking down some heaters. Some hot strokes to get to the line.”
The men finished six minutes 10.80 seconds, more than three seconds ahead of silver-medallists Cuba (6:14.30) and bronze-medallists Argentina (6:16.52).
Kerry Shaffer, from Welland, Ont., and Antje Von Seydlitz of Smithers, B.C., won gold in the women’s double sculls with a time of 7:13.01, just ahead of the United States (7:14.65) in second and Cuba (7:20.00) in third.
Canadian rowers also took bronze medals in men’s double sculls and women’s coxless pairs.
Just down the road in Welland, Canada added four medals in kayak and canoe events.
Ben Russell from Dartmouth, N.S., and Gabriel Beauchesne-Sevigny from Trois-Rivieres, Que., won gold in the C-2 1,000 metres. Canadian flag-bearer Mark Oldershaw from Burlington, Ont., raced to a silver medal in the men’s C-1 1,000 metres. Michelle Russell of Fall River, N.S., won silver in K-1 500 metres — her second medal of the Pan Am Games. Veteran Adam van Koeverden of Oakville, Ont., won bronze in the K-1 1,000 metres.
Russell and Beauchesne-Sevigny won gold with a time of 3:46.316, beating Brazil by 0.801 seconds and Cuba by 3.616 seconds.
Canada won more gold medals in diving and shooting.
Montreal’s Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion from Laval won Canada’s second diving gold in women’s synchronized 10-metre platform. They earned 316.89 points to beat Brazil (291.36) and Mexico (287.91).
In the men’s three-metre synchro final, Montreal’s Philippe Gagne and Francois Imbeau-Dulac of St-Lazare, Que., finished second with 413.37 points.
Amanda Chudoba of Spruce Grove, Alta., won Canada’s second shooting gold with a victory in women’s trap.
Chudoba edged American Kayle Browning in a shoot-off after the final round was tied at 11.
Also Monday, Toronto’s Jordan Belchos won Canada’s first ever Pan Am roller speedskating medal with a bronze in the men’s 10,000 metres.
“My mom was crying,” Belchos said.
“It was incredible.”