Canadian boxers Tammara Thibeault and Wyatt Sanford captured gold medals at the Pan American Games with unanimous points decisions (5-0) on Friday in Santiago, Chile.
Thibeault beat Panama’s Atheyna Bylon in the women’s 75-kilogram final, while Sanford triumphed in the men’s 63.5 kg final against Mexico’s Miguel Angel Martinez.
Both Canadians were tied after two rounds before coming out on top in the third and final round to take gold.
“It means the world,” Thibeault said. “Out of all the tournaments I’ve been to, I’ve been able to capture gold and I was missing Pan Ams. Now missing the Olympics, but hopefully we’re on the right path and that’s what we’re going to get.
“I’m very proud of myself, very proud of my team. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
GOLD MEDAL: Canadian Tammara Thibeault captures Pan Am gold in 75km boxing final
Featured VideoTammara Thibeault of Shawinigan, Que., captured her first career Pan Am Games gold medal Friday defeating Atheyna Bylon of Panama 5-0 in the 75kg boxing category.
The Shawinigan, Que., native will arrive in Paris next summer looking to complete her golden collection.
Thibeault, 26, also holds the 2022 world and Commonwealth Games titles.
She booked her spot at next summer’s Olympics by winning her semifinal on Thursday. Now, she’ll work toward improving on her Canadian women’s record quarterfinal finish from Tokyo 2020.
“I expect to come out on top [at Paris 2024]. Expect to come out with a gold medal, and make history for Canada,” Thibeault said.
In a rematch of last year’s world championship, Thibeault and Bylon traded blows throughout. Despite their similar statures, contrasting styles turned the fight into a strategic battle, with the Canadian looking to aggressively attack while the Panamian preferred to pick her spots.
It was Bylon who held the advantage with three of five judges after the first round, prompting Thibeault to lean even further into her quick-strike ability. By the end of the second round, four judges had the tilt all-square, with one favouring the Canadian.
Tammara Thibeault discusses her Pan Am Games boxing gold medal victory
Featured VideoThe Shawinigan, Que. native chats about her win over Atheyna Bylon in the 75kg boxing final at the Pan Am Games.
A tense final round saw the combatants take turns holding the seeming advantage, with Bylon controlling much of the pace. But a late flurry from Thibeault might have swung things the other way, and the Canadian emerged with a unanimous victory.
“We did know each other pretty well. She’s s tricky boxy to fight. She’s skilled. She’s a little rough,” Thibeault said. “I was a little disappointed in my performance today. I pulled off the win, yeah, but I could have boxed better.
“I would have cleaned it up a little bit, use straighter punches, less holding, work a little bit more on the inside, be smarter tactically and not let it get so messy and so close.”
Thibeault now holds the 2-0 edge in title fights over Bylon — but the next one could be for the Olympic crown.
Sanford and Martinez both landed good shots in their opening round, but all five judges sided with the Mexican.
Martinez continued to score in the second round, but Sanford responded with sharp counters to even the cards.
The slugfest continued in the third round with the gold medal up for grabs, and the relentless Sanford maintained pressure down the stretch to claim the light welterweight crown.
GOLD MEDAL: Nova Scotia boxer Wyatt Sanford punches his way to Pan Am gold
Featured VideoWyatt Sanford of Kennetcook, N.S. beat Mexico’s Miguel Martinez by unanimous decision to win the Pan American Games men’s 63.5 kg gold medal bout.
“Getting the gold medal is a huge accomplishment; super happy,” Sanford told CBC Sports’ Rob Pizzo after the win.
Sanford, who is married to Canadian Olympic diver Pamela Ware, said he was happy to bring home a gold of his own after Ware won two events in Santiago.
“I needed at least one to keep up,” Sanford said with a smile.
“Super proud of her; she did absolutely amazing. Just overall great performance from both of us at the Pan Am Games.”
Winning is fun!<a href=”https://twitter.com/robpizzo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@robpizzo</a> caught up with newest gold medallist Wyatt Sanford ???????????? <a href=”https://t.co/78VcLmEzy3″>pic.twitter.com/78VcLmEzy3</a>
The 24-year-old from Kennetcook, N.S., also had unanimous points victories in all three of his fights leading up to the final. He punched his ticket to Paris on Thursday with his semifinal win.
Sanford was the lone man on Canada’s boxing team at the Tokyo Olympics, where he was eliminated in the Round of 32.
Track cycling gold
Canada added to its medal haul in Santiago with gold in the men’s team pursuit track cycling event later on Friday at the Velódromo Parque Peñalolén.
Carson Mattern of Ancaster, Ont., Vancouver’s Campbell Parrish, Michael Foley of Milton, Ont., and Vancouver’s Sean Richardson beat Colombia by nearly nine seconds in the final, lowering their own Pan Am record with a time of three minutes 53.593 seconds.
GOLD MEDAL: Canadian men’s track cycling team earns gold in Pan Am Games team pursuit
Featured VideoThe red and white unit finished with a time of 3:53.593 to defeat Colombia in the men’s team pursuit track cycling final at the Pan Am Games.
Canada set the previous mark just a day prior with a qualifying time of 3:55.981.
“It’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience for me,” said Mattern, who was 2022 junior track world champion in the men’s individual pursuit and omnium. “I’ve been to a few World Championships and other events and the vibe is unmatched here.
“Just being around all the best athletes from our country as well as others uplifts us to do the best and represent Canada the best we can.”
Foley was part of the men’s team pursuit squad that finished fifth in Tokyo — Canada’s best Olympic result in the event since 1932.
Live coverage of the Pan Am Games continues Saturday on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
Santiago 2023 Pan American Games: Day 8 late highlights
Featured VideoWatch some of the best performances of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
