XV Pan American Games
The 2007 Pan American Games was the largest sporting event ever staged in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A total of 470 Canadian athletes – the second largest athlete delegation in Canada’s history – marched into the famed Maracanã Stadium to open the 15th Pan American Games. The Canadian team was led by Chef de Mission Tricia Smith, a four-time Olympian with a gold and a silver medal in rowing, and Assistant Chef de Mission Jacques Cardyn, a 1984 fencing Olympian and 1983 Pan American Games gold medallist. (Smith is now vice-president of the COC.)
Overall, Canadian athletes captured 137 medals (39 gold, 43 silver, 55 bronze) at the 2007 Pan Am Games, topping the 127 medals (29-56-42) the team won at the 2003 Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Canada finished third overall in total medals, behind the United States and Brazil, and ahead of Cuba.
Highlights: Swimming captured 18 medals – one gold, five silver, 12 bronze. Athletics brought home 12 medals – six gold, four silver, two bronze. Men’s field hockey won gold after a gripping championship match against Argentina. Rhythmic gymnast Alexandra Orlando won three gold medals. Mike Beres won two gold and a silver medal in badminton. Jill Henselwood rode to gold and Eric Lamaze brought home a bronze medal in show jumping. Susan Nattrass, Canada’s flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony, won a gold medal in trap shooting. Jaret Llewellyn won two gold medals in water-skiing jump and trick events.
