Maggie Mac Neil swam the butterfly portion of the women’s 4×100-metre medley relay on Wednesday and helped Canada to victory for its 23rd medal in the pool at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile.
It was the fifth win of these Games for Mac Neil, who passed fellow swimmer Jessica Deglau (1999) and two others for most gold medals by a Canadian at a single Pan Am Games.
The 23-year-old from London, Ont., has also won gold in women’s 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle along with relays in the 50 free and 100 free.
Table tennis player Lijuan Geng (1995) and gymnast Ernestine Russell-Carter (1959) also won four gold at a single Pan Am Games.
WATCH | Mac Neil puts forth strong butterfly leg in 100m medley relay win:
GOLD MEDAL: Mac Neil sets Canadian Pan Am gold medals record with medley relay victory
12 hours ago
Duration 6:00
Featured VideoCanada captures gold in the women’s 4×100 medley relay at the Pan American Games. Maggie Mac Neil of London, Ont., sets a record for most gold medals by a Canadian at a single Pan Am Games with five.
Mac Neil was also a member of the mixed relay teams that picked up silver and bronze. She and Mary-Sophie Harvey each earned seven medals in Santiago, which is the most by a Canadian woman at a Pan Am Games.
Marianne Limpert and Joanne Malar (1995), Ralph Hutton (1967) and Deglau won six.
In Wednesday’s race, Danielle Hanus and Rachel Nicol put Canada in silver-medal position at the Aquatics Center following the backstroke and breaststroke. Enter Mac Neil, the reigning Olympic champion in the butterfly, with her team trailing the United States by 25-100ths of a second.
One hundred metres later, the Canadians had clocked a time of three minutes 4.94 seconds and led by 54-100ths as Harvey took over in the freestyle. With 50 metres left, Catie DeLoof cut into the deficit and Canada only led by 11-100ths, but Harvey held her off.
Mexico was awarded the bronze medal after a 4:04.73 performance, just 6-100ths ahead of Colombia.
Canadian swimmers amassed 25 medals in total in Santiago with 11 gold, the most at a Pan Ams held outside Canada.
WATCH | Mac Neil, Harvey, Nicol, and Hanus reflect on 100m medley relay win:
Canadian women’s 4x100m medley relay team reflect on victory
8 hours ago
Duration 1:31
Featured VideoCanada’s Maggie Mac Neil, Rachel Nicol, Danielle Hanus and Mary-Sophie Harvey discuss their gold medal performance in the women’s 4×100-metre medley relay final at the Pan American Games.
Mac Neil didn’t taper to peak for the Pan Ams. She raced in a World Cup in Athens, less than a week out from Santiago’s opening ceremonies.
But she started strong on opening night when Mac Neil swam Canada’s third leg of the 4×100 freestyle relay.
The reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 100 butterfly then claimed gold in that distance Sunday in Pan Am Games record time.
Her hopes and expectations met in her signature event, Mac Neil then went to work in individual freestyle races, which are important to her because of relays.
“Once the 100 fly was over, I really wanted that title and that was the only thing I was really thinking going into the meet,” Mac Neil said. “Because it was my first time swimming freestyle internationally, I felt relaxed anyway. I had nothing really to lose.
“It was a lot of racing for me, but it’s always good practice, especially this early on in the season.”
Mac Neil was among the Canadian women who won an Olympic silver medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay as well as a medley bronze in Tokyo two years ago.
She wants to maintain her freestyle strength for the 2024 Summer Games relays.
“I want to be able to step up for them and hopefully we get another medal in Paris,” Mac Neil said.
Her Olympic debut in Tokyo felt sterile and locked down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mac Neil wanted to compete in Santiago as a dress rehearsal for a more hectic environment in Paris.
“The first thing is that it’s a Games environment and we didn’t really get much of that in Tokyo,” she said.
“So just practising kind of the uncontrollables, whether that’s food, a lot of walking, transportation mishaps, it’s all kind of part of the process and getting ready for what’s coming in Paris.”
Pickrem posts Games record
Earlier, Canada’s Sydney Pickrem made it two gold medals and one Pan Am Games record in Chile, cruising to victory in 2:09.04 in the women’s 200 individual medley.
Pickrem, 26, took down the Games record of 2:10.51 by Caitlin Leverenz of the United States from 2015 in Toronto.
GOLD AND SILVER MEDALS: Canada’s Sydney Pickrem claims gold, Mary-Sophie Harvey takes silver at Pan Am Games
13 hours ago
Duration 4:54
Featured VideoCanadians Sydney Pickrem captures gold with a personal best time of 2.09:04, and teammate Mary-Sophie Harvey claims silver in the 200 metre individual medley at the Pan Am Games.
It is also 63-100ths faster than the Halifax native’s winning time in the event at the recent World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Athens. In May, she was also victorious in the 200 IM in 2:08.89 at the London International Meet.
Making her second Pan Am Games appearance, Pickrem also captured gold on Monday in a 1-2 Canadian finish with Kelsey Wog.
The 2019 world bronze medallist, Pickrem boasts a 2:08.61 season best from the Canadian trials in March. It was a national record until 16-year-old Summer McIntosh topped it with a 2:08.08 effort earlier this year at a Pro Swim Series event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Harvey of Trois-Rivieres, Que., finished behind Pickrem on Wednesday for silver in 2:11.92, while Helen Noble (2:14.19) of the United States took bronze.
WATCH | Pan Am Games Wednesday morning highlights from Santiago, Chile:
Santiago 2023 Pan American Games: Day 6 early highlights
15 hours ago
Duration 25:56
Featured VideoWatch some early action highlights from day six of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
For the 24-year-old Harvey, the 200 IM silver represented her third podium finish of these Games. She was part of the winning relay team in the women’s 100 free on Saturday and prevailed the following day in the 200 free.
Harvey reached the medal podium in four of five events in her 2019 Pan Am Games debut in Lima, where she was spiraling into darkness.
Battling an eating disorder, mental health concerns and a lingering shoulder injury, Harvey had just missed making the senior team heading to the world championships and questioned her future in the sport. She was prepared to quit.
“I started to skip meals. I would barely have one meal a day,” Harvey told CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux recently. “I made the Pan Am team. I thought I’d be happy about that but afterwards I still felt empty.”
A month before those Lima Games, Harvey says she attempted suicide. She called her mom and went to the hospital to recover.
“I stayed at her place for a month and then went to Pan Ams,” Harvey said.
In the men’s 200 IM, Finlay Knox of Okotoks, Alta., overtook the field and claimed the first gold medal by Canadian men in the pool at these Games.
The 2021 Olympian touched the wall in 1:58.74, 1.15 seconds ahead of Arsenio Bustos of the U.S., while bronze went to Brazil’s Leonardo Coelho (2:00.58). Collyn Gagne of Milton, Ont., was fourth (2:00.79).
WATCH | Knox wins men’s 200m individual medley in 1:58.74:
GOLD MEDAL: Alberta’s Finlay Knox swims to Pan Am 200m individual medley victory
13 hours ago
Duration 4:05
Featured VideoFinlay Knox of Okotoks, Alta., won the Pan Am Games men’s 200-metre individual medley in a time of 1:58.74. Fellow countryman Collyn Gagne of Milton, Ont., finished in fourth place.
Canada wins 4 badminton gold medals
The final day of badminton competition in Santiago saw Canada take home gold in four of the five events.
Catherine Choi of Markham, Ont., and Edmonton’s Josephine Wu got things started on Wednesday with gold in women’s doubles, beating American twins Annie and Kerry Xu 2-1 (21-18, 10-21, 21-17).
The top-seeded Canadian duo reached the final without dropping a game.
WATCH l Choi, Wu win women’s doubles gold:
GOLD MEDAL: Canada defeats United States in badminton doubles, claiming top spot at Pan Am Games
20 hours ago
Duration 2:07
Featured VideoCanada’s Catherine Choi and Josephine Wu defeated the American pair of Annie and Kerry Xu 21-18, 10-21, 21-17 to take badminton doubles gold at the Pan Am Games.
Wu later returned to the court to help Canada win the mixed doubles gold-medal match, teaming up with Ty Lindeman of St. Alberta, Alta., to top Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai of the U.S. 2-1 (17-21, 21-17, 21-19).
WATCH l Wu, Lindeman prevail in mixed doubles final:
GOLD MEDAL: Canada captures 4th badminton Pan Am gold with mixed doubles win
11 hours ago
Duration 2:36
Featured VideoCanada’s Ty Lindeman and Josephine Wu defeat Jennie Gai and Vinson Chiu of the United States 17-21, 21-17, 21-19 in the badminton mixed doubles gold medal match at the Pan An American Games. Wu collected her second gold after her victory with Catherine Choi in women’s doubles to start the day and the Canadian team would rack up four gold medals and add a bronze by the end of the session.
Canada also topped the men’s doubles podium.
Adam Dong of Burlington, Ont., and Nyl Yakura of Pickering, Ont., captured gold by beating Brazil’s Fabrício Farias and Davi Silva 2-1 (19-21, 21-15, 21-18).
WATCH l Yakura, Dong edge Brazil for gold in men’s doubles:
GOLD MEDAL: Canada defeats Brazil claiming both gold medals in women’s and men’s doubles badminton
19 hours ago
Duration 2:13
Featured VideoCanada’s Nyl Yakura and Xingyu Dong take gold for the red and white after defeating Brazil’s Davi Carvalho and Fabricio Rocha 19-21, 21-15, 21-18 in doubles badminton.
No. 1 seed Brian Yang won gold in men’s singles with a sweep of Kevin Cordón of Guatemala, who is part of the independent athletes team.
The 21-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., was perfect throughout the tournament, winning eight straight games after receiving a bye into the second round — upgrading his silver medal from the 2019 edition.
Top Canadian player Michelle Li, a four-time Pan Am games gold medallist, was forced to miss these Games due to an injury.
Canada leads the all-time Pan Am Games medal table in badminton with 60, including 25 gold.
WATCH l Yang tops men’s badminton podium:
GOLD MEDAL: Yang captures more badminton gold for Canada at Pan Am Games
15 hours ago
Duration 1:37
Featured VideoRichmond Hill’s Brian Yang claimed Pan Am Games badminton singles gold Wednesday, defeating Independent Athletes Team member Kevin Cordon in straight sets 21-18, 21-6.
In track cycling, the Canadian quartet of Devaney Collier, Fiona Majendie, Kiara Lylyk and Ruby West won gold in women’s team pursuit with a victory over Mexico’s Lizbeth Salazar, María Gaxiola, Victoria Velasco and Yareli Acevedo in Wednesday’s final.
The Canadians clocked a time of 4:23.000 at the Velodromo Parque Penalolen.
“We used a young alternate who shows a lot of promise today and we managed to get it done with a really fast time, too,” said Canada coach Phil Abbott of Lylyk, who was a late substitute after Ngaire Barraclough withdrew due to illness.
WATCH | Day 6 late highlights:
Santiago 2023 Pan American Games: Day 6 late highlights
6 hours ago
Duration 26:03
Featured VideoWatch some of the best performances of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.
Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.
The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.
Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.
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