Leading the medal count, Canadian athletes have enjoyed much success in the early portions of the Pan-Am Games. Nowhere is this more true than out at the Royal Henley Island course in St. Catherines were Canadian athletes have dominated the medal haul. They added to that total on Tuesday morning with three more gold medals for the country.
Canada’s Rowing Teams win Triple Gold on The Water on Tuesday
Matthew Buie of Duntroon, Ont., Julien Bahain of Sherbrooke, Que., Will Dean of Kelowna, B.C., and Rob Gibson of Kingston, Ont. led the men’s quadruple sculls final from start to finish, and brought home the gold, with a time of 5:42.22.
Earlier in the day, Liz Fenje from Victoria, B.C. and Katherine Sauks from Owen Sound, On were victorious in the women’s lightweight double sculls at Royal Henley Island. The pair fiinished with a time of 6:57.23.
Carling Zeeman of Cambridge, Ont. won the first gold of the day with a dominant performance in the women’s single sculls. She finished more than seven seconds ahead of Katherine McFetridge of the United States who took home the silver. Zeeman had a winning time of 7:30.86.
Tuesday’s victories come just a day after Canada added seven medals at the same venue. Three in rowing and four in canoe/kayak.
Hometown St. Catherines native, Will Crothers, Tim Schrijver of Thedford, Ont., Kai Langerfeld of Parksville, B.C., and Conlin McCabe of Brockville, Ont. won the 500m men’s coxless four, Kerry Shaffer, from Welland, Ont., and Antje Von Seydlitz of Smithers, B.C., won gold in the women’s double sculls. While Canadian rowers brought home bronze in the men’s double sculls and women’s coxless pairs.
Down the road in Welland, Ben Russell from Dartmouth, N.S., and Gabriel Beauchesne-Sevigny from Trois-Rivieres, Que., won gold in the C-2 1,000 metres. Mark Oldershaw of Burlington, Ont., took the silver in the men’s C-1 1,000 metres. Michelle Russell of Fall River, N.S., won silver in K-1 500 metres and Olympic veteran Adam Van Koeverden of Oakville, Ont., won bronze in the K-1 1,000 metres.
They may be the athletes competiting furthest from the games home base of Toronto, but they have been painting the Niagara Region gold, silver and bronze with their performances and flying the maple leaf proudly.
