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 Ian Millar, a 68-year-old Canadian competing in his 10th consecutive
Pan Am Games, led his country to a gold medal in team equestrian to
give Canada an automatic berth in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"We wanted this so badly for our team and our country," said Millar,
who has also competed in a record 10 Summer Olympics.
"It's not necessarily the same team that will go to Rio next year,
although I have a suspicion it might just be."
Dwyer qualified for Friday's men's 200 meters final in style as he
broke the oldest Pan Am athletics record by crossing the line in
19.80, eclipsing the 19.86 posted by Jamaican Don Quarrie in 1971.
His time was also the third fastest non-wind assisted mark in the
world this year. Only American Justin Gatlin, a four-times Olympics
medalist, has gone faster.
Mexico's Brenda Flores also set a Pan Am record in the women's
10,000m final where she crossed the line in 32 minutes, 41.33
seconds, comfortably ahead of American Desiree Davila (silver) and
Canada's Lanni Marchant (bronze).
In pole vault, Cuba's Yarisley Silva cleared 4.85m, the highest of
any women this year, to win the gold. Brazil's Fabiana Murer grabbed
silver while American Jenn Suhr, a favorite at next month's world
championships, took bronze.
The Dominican Republic's Luguelin Santos, who won a silver medal in
the men's 400m at the 2012 London Olympics, went one better in
Toronto as he captured the gold in the same event with a season-best
time of 44.56 seconds.
Damian Warner, who wanted to experience what it was like to compete
in front of a home crowd despite its proximity to next month's world
championships, took gold in the men's decathlon and broke a
19-year-old Canadian record in the process.
'OVERCOME DIFFICULTIES'
The United States, buoyed by seven gold medals on Thursday,
strengthened their lead atop the table with 83 gold and 224 overall.
Canada remained in second with 69 gold and 186 overall.
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The United States beat Canada in the men's fencing team saber final
while Argentina's Ricardo Bustamante overcame a bout of sickness to
help his team capture the bronze.
"The doctors couldn't give me anything because I was competing, so I
just had to keep up with it – that's it. It really affected me,"
said Bustamante.
"I usually don't fence that badly or with that stress. I managed to
overcome the difficulties and here I am with a medal."
In waterski and wakeboard, one of the eight Pan Am sports not part
of the Olympics program, a pair of siblings combined to win one gold
medal and three silver.
Canadian water-skier Whitney McClintock combined for three of the
medals as she triumphed in the women's slalom event and then took
silver in the tricks and jump finals.
Her gold medal marked the 65th of the Pan Am Games for Canada,
beating the previous mark of 64 set in 1999 with three days of
competition remaining.
McClintock's brother, Jason, won silver in the men's slalom and
narrowly missed the podium in the tricks competition later in the
day.
"Having friends, family and also seeing so many gold medals coming
in for Canada built some pressure." said Whitney, who also won gold
in Wednesday's women's overall. "But at the same time it fueled me."
(Editing by Steve Keating.)
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