Parapan Am Games: Canadian swimmers continue to make waves
Canada's wheelchair rugby team advances to final, will face Americans Tuesday
Canada's swimmers continued to shine at the Parapan Am Games in Peru on Monday.
A double podium finish in the men's S14 200-metre freestyle highlighted a five-medal day in the pool for Canada.
Nicholas Bennett, 15, captured his second gold in as many nights. He was joined on the podium by his teammate Tyson MacDonald, who won bronze.
Bennett's race time was 1:59.10, while MacDonald completed his third-place performance in 2:03.44 for his first-ever major Games medal.
The goal was to be on the podium tonight, regardless of if it was 1-2 or 1-3," MacDonald said. "On the turn, I thought I was third but it only matters when you touch the wall. I just had to keep fighting for home, and luckily we got the bronze."
WATCH | Canadians take gold and bronze in Parapan Am 200m free:
A second Canadian swimmer became a first-time gold medallist at the Parapan Am Games, as Angela Marina swam a golden race in the women's S14 200m freestyle.
The 20-year-old's time was 2:15.16, a new Canadian record
Krystal Shaw took home the silver medal in the women's S7 100 freestyle in a personal best time of 1:23.90 and Arianna Hunsicker took home the bronze in the women's S10 200 individual medley.
Rugby
The Canadian wheelchair rugby team will be going for gold after ousting Brazil 56-46 in the semifinals.
The defending Parapan Am Games champions stayed ahead in the game from start to finish with Zak Madell and Shayne Smith leading the scoring for Canada.
WATCH | Canada advances to wheelchair rugby final:
The team will now take on rivals United States for the gold medal, with the winner receiving an automatic berth in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
"I think the team has been absolutely dominant and we're coming for the U.S. We have to do a little bit better in our transitions," Smith said. "I think we can turn it up a little. Same energy, with a little more focus and I think we'll be all right."
Cycling
Canada continued the double podium trend in cycling, going 1-2 in the women's tandem individual pursuit as Para cycling kicked off at the velodrome.
In an all-Canadian gold medal final, after qualifying in first and second positions, Carla Shibley and pilot Meghan Lemiski nabbed top spot with a time of 3:50.575, just ahead of their teammates Annie Bouchard and pilot Evelyne Gagnon who earned the silver medal.
"I didn't expect us to win a gold medal, I wasn't feeling the greatest after the semifinal, I was having some breathing issues, and I was able to tough it out," Shibley said. "I told myself that I just needed to suffer a little more in the last four laps just to win by that last second. I couldn't be prouder with this result and I'm excited to move onto the kilo [time trial] race tomorrow and see what happens."
Not to be left out, male tandem racers Lowell Taylor and pilot Andrew Davidson also reached the podium with a silver in the men's individual pursuit. They finished behind Colombians Nelson Serna and pilot Marlon Perez, who had qualified for the final in first position. This is the first Parapan Am Games medal for each Canadian tandem racer, in their first multi-sport Games.