DAY 14: Team Canada at Lima 2019
LIMA, PERU – Team Canada started Day 14 off with back-to-back-to-back gold in rowing and sailing and ended with the most amount of medals won in a day with 18. Canada also qualified two more teams to Tokyo as the women’s water polo team qualified for an Olympic Games for the first-time since Athens 2004 and the men’s 49er sailing team earned bronze to qualify for the North American quota spot.
TEAM CANADA’S MEDAL COUNT:
GOLD: 31 | SILVER : 54 | BRONZE: 46 | TOTAL: 131
RESULTS: Team Canada’s competition results at Lima 2019.
SCHEDULE: Team Canada’s competition schedule at Lima 2019.
DAY 14 HIGHLIGHTS:
- Women’s water polo team qualifies a spot for Tokyo 2020 and moves on to the gold medal game after 19-5 win over Brazil. They will face the U.S, who already secured an Olympic berth;
- Men’s water polo team defeat Brazil 8-7 to make it to the gold medal game for a chance at Tokyo 2020 qualification, only the second time the Canadian men have made it to the Pan Ams final;
- Katherine Haber and Jaclyn Stelmaszyk, also known as the “Mommy Doubles” after they had babies born four days apart in 2017, win gold in women’s double lightweight sculls (rowing);
- The 49er team (sailing) of Alexander Heinzemann and Justin Barnes take bronze and earn a trip to Tokyo, qualifying the North American spot for Tokyo 2020;
- Canada’s women’s softball team defeated USA 3-2 and advances directly to the gold medal game at 2:00pm tomorrow;
- Brittany Crew threw 19.07m to smash her own Canadian record of 18.69 and capture silver in the shot put event;
- Women’s field hockey fall short of qualifying for Tokyo after losing 5-1 to Argentina and settle for the silver medal.
DAY 14 QUOTES OF THE DAY:
Jessica GAUDREAULT (Captain: Women’s Water Polo) on their match against Brazil:
“I think we came out really strong and our presence only progressed as the game went on. Especially with the Olympic berth on the line, I think we put it all out there.”
Jessica GAUDREAULT (Captain: Women’s Water Polo) on what it means to win the match, qualifying a Tokyo 2020 spot for the team after eight years of hard work:
“It means so much to me. In my head, it’s eight years on hard work that we’ve all put together as a team. So to come out really strong and dominate in that game, it really meant a lot.”
Joelle BEKHAZI (Women’s Water Polo) on her third Pan Am Games and what it means to qualify for Tokyo 2020:
“Honestly, words can’t really express what I feel. It’s been a really long road and we worked really hard. This team has really helped with keeping us motivated through all the hardships and the heartbreaks, having them with their fresh minds and their hearts and how much they have wanted it as much as we do, it’s really refreshing and it’s good to have your dreams come true.”
Danielle HENNIG (Silver medalist: Women’s field hockey) on taking silver:
“It’s pretty special to have a silver medal, or even a medal of any color, around our necks. Argentina is a top team in the world and that’s something we are striving to become. At times we showed our capabilities and we put them under some pressure, but there were also a few nerves. I don’t think we played to our full potential. We have really been improving and we are getting there. We have learned how to win games like semifinals and it is now time to get past that step. It’s a process.”
Danielle HENNIG (Silver medalist: Women’s field hockey) on the improvements of Team Canada over the past years:
“It’s been almost 30 years since a Canadian women’s team has been in the [Pan American Games] final. At the last Pan Ams we won the bronze for the first time in 16 years. You can see this team is building.”
Gilles BONNET (Canadian women’s field hockey coach) on Canada taking silver:
“We made the final, that was a big step for us. We are busy qualifying for Tokyo 2020 [Olympic Games] and this was a little bit of a bridge too far. We knew that up front. They [Argentina] are third in the world, we are 18th. We could get there one day, but it will take us time. This game was about seeing if we could make it competitive. We saw that we didn’t. We learned a lot, but we are not yet close enough with the top-four in the world. But it is good to see where we are.”
Gilles BONNET (Canadian women’s field hockey coach) on the improvements of Canada:
“We are coming off number 21 in the world. We are moving quickly. After this event we will get to number 14 in the world, so in six months we have moved seven places. This is a team in transition. For 20 years, [Canada] have been 20th in the world. If this was a business, you would close it down. We need to think about where we are coming from. Other top teams are asking to play us now. Before they wouldn’t give us a phone call. We are making steps. What this team has done in the last 18 months is remarkable. They are a great bunch, very committed.”
Leya BUCHANAN (Silver medalist: Athletics – 4x100m relay) on trying to catch gold medalists Brazil on the final leg:
“I wasn’t even focused on that. I was just concentrating on running a good leg. I knew that we were in the top two or three, but I just wanted to have a really strong finish. We won a silver medal in [Toronto] 2015 and we really wanted to make sure we did it again.”
Khamica BINGHAM (Silver medalist: Athletics – 4x100m relay) on running first leg:
“The start is something new for me but I just give it my all. I knew I had to give my team a lead and once I did that I knew that they would do their jobs. And they did that. It was a great evening. It’s cold out there but the crowd was amazing. They got us pumping, so we were ready to run.”
Justina DI STASIO (Gold medalist: Wrestling – Freestyle – Women’s 76 kg) on what winning gold means to her:
“This, for me, is pretty big. I haven’t medaled at this weight class in a really long time. I’ve actually never medaled a gold medal at this weight class ever. It changed from 75 to 76 last time I was wrestling this big so it’s special to me.”
Brittany CREW (Silver medalist: Athletics – Shot put) on surpassing her own Canadian record once again:
“I didn’t even know what medal I got but I knew I got one. I was just really happy, I’ve been waiting to throw 19 metres for a very long time and I’m just happy that I could come out here and do it in not ideal conditions. I just have a lot of fun with the girls. I’m super happy I don’t even care what medal place I got, I set a new PB national record. It’s all I can ask for.”
Jen SELLING (Women’s Softball) on advancing directly to the gold medal game after winning bronze at the last Pan Am Games in 2015:
“Our team has a newfound confidence now I’ve found and the more that I’m reflecting on this week, just where we’re at as a time and where we are individually, we’re just in such a better place as far as our preparation. So the confidence is there and we just need to keep building on it because we still have work to do so with the gold medal came and then the qualifier coming up in two weeks.”
Katherine HABER (Gold Medalist: Rowing – Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls) on the crowd’s support during her gold medal race with partner Jaclyn STELMASZYK:
“Leading into the race, it was really awesome to feel so much support behind our crew and it gave us some great confidence and some fuel that we could use during the race, just like that pride that we can use. During the race, probably with 500 metres to go, we could hear the crowd cheering at the finish line, and I could actually hear some Canada in there and it was really exciting.
Jaclyn STELMASZYK (Gold Medalist: Rowing – Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls) on her gold medal race with partner Katherine HABER:
“It’s great when you’re able to see your competitors because we go backwards, so it’s like, ‘ah, there they are’. You can almost push them away with your feet.”
Jaclyn STELMASZYK (Gold Medalist: Rowing – Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls) on winning gold at her first international competition since having a daughter:
“I’m so excited. I came back from having a child a little later than Kate. I wasn’t sure. I was a little bit behind and just being able to come back from it in a little over a year and then have such a fantastic result at a multi-sport Games, is just unbelievable. I didn’t know if I could get back in shape in time but now I believe I can do anything, especially with this girl [HABER].”
RESOURCES:
ALL QUOTES: Team Canada’s flash quotes at Lima 2019. (live updates)
PHOTOS: Submit a request for editorial photos at images.olympic.ca.
LIMA BY THE NUMBERS: Statistics on select sports at Lima 2019.
VISIT: Olympic.ca/press-resources/ for other information.
FOLLOW: @TeamCanadaPR for live medal alerts.
TOKYO 2020: Olympic qualification for Tokyo 2020 at Lima 2019.
TEAM CANADA TRIVIA:
Q. Who was the 2018 Olympian that also won Canada’s first-ever Pan Am medal in roller speed skating?
A. In 2015, Jordan Belchos won Canada’s first-ever Pan Am medal in roller speed skating with bronze in the 10,000m points race. He was also a 2018 Olympian in Long Track Speed Skating.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Josh Su, Media Relations Lead
Canadian Olympic Committee
Peru: +51 1 920 259 209
WhatsApp: 647-464-4060
E: jsu@olympic.ca