Canadian paddlers earn trio of sprint gold medals in canoe/kayak at Pan Am Games
Canada's women's water polo team wins semis; Sailing duo clinches Olympic berth
Canada boosted its gold-medal count quickly on Friday at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile.
Kayaker Michelle Russell won the women's K1 500 metres to start things off, and was succeeded in short order by Ian Gaudet and Simon McTavish, who grabbed men's K2 500 gold, and Alix Plomteux and Craig Spence, who followed suit in the men's C2 500.
Canada now sits at 40 gold medals — already five more than it won at the 2019 Pan Ams in Lima.
Russell, of Fall River, N.S., stopped the clock in one minute 51.25 seconds at the San Pedro de la Paz lagoon for her fourth career Pan Am medal.
The 31-year-old was part of the four-person women's kayak team that won Canada's first gold medal at the 2015 Games in Toronto before adding silvers in singles and doubles competition.
WATCH | Russell claims gold at Pan Ams:
Meanwhile, McTavish's gold marked his first-ever medal in Canadian colours after switching allegiances from Australia in 2019.
The 27-year-old teamed with Gaudet, a 20-year-old making his senior-level debut at a major competition, to cross the finish line in 1:30.45.
WATCH | McTavish, Gaudet paddle to gold medal:
In canoe, Plomteux, the 23-year-old from Lac-Beauport, Que., and Spence, a 28-year-old from Dartmouth, N.S., climbed the top of the podium with a time of 1:42.12.
Canada rounded out its medals at the lagoon when the women's K4 500 squad secured a silver medal while Sophia Jensen added to the Canadian medal haul with bronze in the women's C200.
WATCH | Pomteux, Spence win gold medal:
Meanwhile, Canada's women's water polo team is one win away from a berth to the Olympics.
The Canadians routed Brazil 21-4 in their semifinal, led by Montreal's Elyse Lemay-Lavoie, who netted five goals.
Canada will face face the U.S., which beat Argentina 27-1 in the other semifinal, on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET with a ticket to Paris and a Pan Am gold medal on the line.
The Canadian men will play for a bronze medal after suffering a 13-12 semifinal loss to Brazil while the United States took the other semifinal in a 22-7 rout over Argentina.
If the water polo women advance to Paris, they could see Canadian sailors Justin Barnes and Will Jones, whose bronze medal in the men's 49er discipline on Friday was enough to clinch an Olympic berth as the top North American/Caribbean boat not already qualified.
WATCH | Barnes, Jones book ticket to Paris:
Fellow Canadian sailors Ali ten Hove and Mariah Millen also qualified for the Olympics with their silver medal in the women's 49er.
The Canadian men's field hockey team beat the United States 3-2 in the bronze-medal match to earn a spot at a last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament.
Canada added another bronze medal in artistic swimming's mixed team event.
Live coverage of the Pan Am Games continues on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
WATCH | ten Hove, Millen score silver:
