|
 De Grasse, two days removed from winning the marquee men's 100
meters final, delivered a stellar performance in the 200m final as
he crossed in 19.88 seconds to break his own national record and set
a Pan Am Games mark.
"Last night all I needed was some rest. Once I got the rest, and I
woke up this morning, I felt great," said De Grasse. "I can't
believe I did it. Somehow I just managed to pull it off. I'm really
happy about this."
While De Grasse delivered yet another sprinting title for the host
nation, it was the United States who stole the show in athletics as
they won four out of the nine gold medals handed out on Friday.
American world champion David Oliver, who took a pass on a more
prestigious Diamond League meet in London to compete in his first
Pan Am Games, won the men's 110m hurdles final, but not before
having to run the distance twice.
Oliver did not hear the officials call a false start on Cuba's
Yordan O'Farrill and so sprinted full-out to the finish line along
with another runner, only to wait 30-minutes before doing it all
over again.
In his second attempt, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist smashed the
Pan Am Games record, which he had set as a goal, with a time of
13.07 seconds.
"I am used to doing repeat 110's at practice, so I said 'it would be
like training' and stayed focused," said Oliver. "When they said we
had to go again, I was like 'alright, let's just strap it up and
let's get ready to rock!"
The United States also captured athletics gold medals in the women's
200m, men's 1,500m and women's 3,000m steeplechase.
With two days left in the multi-sport competition featuring
countries from North America, Latin America, South America and the
Caribbean, the United States strengthened their lead atop the medals
table with 93 gold and 240 overall. Canada are second with 72 gold
and 195 overall.
In women's softball, the seven-times defending champion United
States beat Canada 5-2 to reach the Saturday's gold medal game where
they will face three-times runner-up Puerto Rico, a 12-2 winner over
Brazil.
[to top of second column] |
The United States' women's field hockey team defeated Argentina 2-1
in a gold medal clash between two teams that are headed to the 2016
Rio Olympics.
An automatic Rio berth was on offer for the winner of the women's
field hockey competition but since Argentina had already qualified,
the United States were assured a ticket just for reaching the final.
Argentina's women's handball team fell 25-20 to Brazil in their gold
medal match but still qualified for Rio after securing a spot in the
final against the Olympic hosts.
In men's basketball, hosts Canada stunned the United States 111-108
in overtime to reach Saturday's gold medal game, where they will
play Brazil, who beat the Dominican Republic 68-62 in the earlier
semi-final.
The day got off to a rocky start as news surfaced that a member of
Brazil's silver medal-winning men's water polo team is wanted by
Toronto police on a warrant for sexual assault.
An arrest warrant has been issued for 27-year-old Thye Mattos
Ventura Bezerra, the team's substitute goalkeeper, after a woman was
allegedly sexually assaulted while she was sleeping in her
residence, according to police.
"There could be other victims," Sex Crimes Inspector Joanna
Beaven-Desjardins told a news conference. "That's why his picture is
out in the public."
(Editing by Gene Cherry)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
