Pan Am roundup: Canada wins silver in women's Madison cycling race

Miriam Brouwer, left, and Maggie Coles, of Canada, sling each other during women's Madison track cycling at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019. Canada won the silver. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

LIMA, Peru -- Miriam Brouwer and Maggie Coles-Lyster won silver in the women's cycling track finals, making it Canada's first-ever Pan Am Madison medal.

The pair said they bonded in the weeks leading up to the race and that contributed to their success in the final.

"We gelled. You have to read each other's minds in the Madison and I think we did it pretty well today," said Brouwer of Cambridge, Ont.

This is the first time they've raced in the Madison together.

"We have spent a lot of time together the past three weeks, so we're pretty much the same person," said Coles-Lyster of Maple Ridge, B.C.

She said they managed to avoid several heavy falls in the race by staying in the front.

"It's the safest place. It's where you have the most control and thank God we went in with that tactic because most of the teams didn't seem to have the same idea.

"It all went pretty much exactly as we planned. (Brouwer) has a better endurance engine and she goes for the longer stuff and I'm more the sprinter and she set me up beautifully and we got enough sprints. We went in and rode exactly as we planned," said Coles-Lyster.

Kelsey Mitchell of Sherwood Park, Alta., has a spot in the finals after edging Mexico's Jessica Salazar Valles.

She will be up against Colombia's Martha Bayona Pineda in the sprint event later Sunday.

Mitchell also set a Pan American Games record while qualifying for the cycling track women's sprint on Saturday.

She completed the qualifying for the 200-metre race in 10.89 seconds, topping the field and beating the previous Pan Am record time of 10.992 set by Canadian Monique Sullivan at the 2015 event in Toronto.

SURFING

Mathea Olin made Canadian surfing history Sunday by winning bronze in the women's longboard competition at the Pan Am Games.

The 16-year-old's bronze medal was an historic first for Canada's surfing team but was short of her title aspirations

"At the moment I'm definitely a little bit bummed," said Olin of Tofino, B.C., fighting back tears. "But I think when I go home and look at the big picture, I'll be pretty happy."

Brazil's Chloe Calmon beat Peru's Maria Fernanda Reyes later Sunday for gold.

GYMNASTICS

Toronto's Katherine Uchida earned a silver medal in hoop, and another in ball on the first day of the rhythmic apparatus finals. Natalie Garcia of Mississauga, Ont., finished sixth in both finals.

Uchida had left the competition on Saturday frustrated by not having made it on to the podium in the all-around competition where she finished fifth overall.

"I feel amazing. I was really disappointed after my performances in the all-around competition, so today, I was trying to forgive and forget, and that's what I did, and I managed to rock out two solid routines and I was rewarded for that," said Uchida.

BASEBALL

Canada's men's baseball team missed out on a third-straight gold medal at the Pan Ams after a 6-1 loss to Puerto Rico on Sunday night. Canada secured gold medal wins over the United States in 2011 in Guadalajara and in 2015 in Toronto.

DIVING

Canada's Meaghan Benfeito and Caeli McKay will compete for gold in the 10-metre synchronized diving event Sunday. They shared the podium yesterday after Benfeito won gold and McKay won silver in the women's 10-metre platform final.

Mont Royal, Que., native Philippe Gagne is gearing up for what he hopes is a second Olympics as competes later Sunday in the three-metre springboard final. He was 11th in the three-metre springboard in Rio in 2016.

CANOE/KAYAK

Ottawa's Lois Betteridge is a slalom silver medallist in the women's C1 while Keenan Simpson, also from Ottawa, placed third in the K1.

The women's C1 is being included in the Olympic program ahead of Tokyo 2020.

"Having the Olympics be a real dream that you can taste is huge because I started canoeing and I was right on the edge where it was the other Canadian girls really pushing to have canoe included," said Betteridge.

"I grew up watching them race at worlds, but never have that opportunity to one day go to the Olympics, so for me, I'm super grateful that they were such pioneers in women's canoe and now I have the opportunity to try to race to get to go to the Olympics."

Liam Smedley of Dunrobin, Ont., has qualified for finals in the men's C1.

FIELD HOCKEY

Canada defeated Mexico 9-0 Sunday to secure a spot in the semifinals. This means Canada is two games away from qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

EQUESTRIAN

Canadians Jessica Phoenix, Karl Slezak, Colleen Loach and Dana Cooke finished third in the jumping event. The U.S. won gold and Brazil took silver.