DAY 7: Team Canada at Lima 2019
LIMA, PERU – Team Canada cemented their Pan Am badminton reign, competing in all seven final events and extending their #1 rank in terms of all-time medals (56) and all-time gold medals (22). Two more sports began their Lima 2019 campaign on Day 7 as racquetball headed into their preliminary round and canoe/kayak extreme slalom made its Pan American Games debut.
TEAM CANADA’S MEDAL COUNT:
GOLD: 16 | SILVER: 29 | BRONZE: 19 | TOTAL: 64
RESULTS: Team Canada’s competition results at Lima 2019.
SCHEDULE: Team Canada’s competition schedule at Lima 2019.
DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS:
- Canada will continue to be ranked number one in Pan American badminton medals after having won seven at Lima 2019, for a total of 56;
- Lois Betteridge and Keenan Simpson competed in Pan Am’s inaugural extreme canoe/kayak – slalom events;
- Canada’s next generation women of track cyclists continue to make an impact, winning a silver in team pursuit and managing a collective personal best (4.27.799);
- Zsomber-Murray, who is the youngest diver at Lima 2019 (16), wins silver.
DAY 7 QUOTES OF THE DAY
ERIN ATWELL (Silver Medallist: Cycling – Track – Team Pursuit) on having her personal best time and winning a silver medal at Games:
“I mean being a development team athlete, it’s pretty incredible especially coming to my first Pan Am Games coming away with a medal is something I would not have been able to say that we are going to do that beforehand.”
“It just shows that the amount of work that we put in is really paying off and the puzzle pieces are slowly coming together. I feel this group has a whole lot more to offer, but it’s a good starting point. It’s just an amazing learning experience and I’m looking forward to more opportunities like this.”
Josh HURLBURT-YU (Gold Medallist: Badminton – Mixed Doubles) on how it feels to win gold at the Pan Am Games with his mixed doubles partner Josephine WU:
“It means a lot. I’ve always watched the Pan Am Games. I’ve always seen my teammates come back with a gold medal. I always wanted to get one and I’m finally here.”
Josephine WU (Gold Medallist: Badminton – Mixed Doubles)
On how it feels to win gold at the Pan Am Games with his mixed doubles partner Josh HURLBURT-YU against fellow Canadians Nyl YAKURA et Kristen TSAI:
“I’m really happy with a win. A lot of emotions are flowing just now. This win meant a lot in terms of points for the Olympics so I’m really glad we pulled it off in the end.”
“It’s tough. They know our style, we know their style. So it’s just a matter of who can handle the pressure and who can just stay in the rally. We’re friends but on the court, everyone is just gunning for the win, so we just set everything aside and focus.”
Michelle LI (Gold Medallist: Badminton – Women’s Singles) on winning her third straight Pan Am singles gold
“I’m really happy that I got the gold medal today. I think that I had a really good start towards Tokyo and this definitely helps. Winning this gold medal, especially against a teammate, I’m really happy with our results.”
Rachel HONDERICH (Gold Medallist: Badminton – Women’s Doubles / Silver Medallist: Badminton – Women’s Singles) on her long history with fellow Canadian Michelle LI and losing to her in the singles final match:
“We have a really good history. I think I was around 14 or 15 when we started training at the same club and as a young kid I’ve always looked up to Michelle and admired her. I think she was the first Canadian player to prove that Canada could compete on the world stage of badminton. To be able to train beside her for many years. So it’s interesting to transition when she became a mentor to someone I was competing against.”
Rachel HONDERICH (Gold Medallist: Badminton – Women’s Doubles / Silver Medallist: Badminton – Women’s Singles) on winning gold in women’s doubles with partner Kristen TSAI:
“We were both quite nervous going into the game. But luckily for us, we quickly got schedule and e had a pretty good start and, as the game progressed, we felt more free and able to play how we wanted to play. The medal means a lot to us. We trained four years for this, so to come through when it counts is really exciting. It is huge for us and also a big stepping stone towards our Olympic hopes.”
Kristen TSAI (Gold Medallist – Badminton – Women’s Doubles on winning gold with partner Rachel HONDERICH:
“We were the first seed so that pressure was on us, so we were quite nervous at first. We got over our nerves quickly and we are happy with how it went. The win also counts a lot for our Olympic qualification run. I’m just happy with how we performed.”
Jason HO-SHUE (Gold Medallist – Badminton – Men’s Doubles) on winning gold:
“It was quite hard, we just had to keep fighting. The first game started really well with a win, but then the US guys [silver medalists Phillip and Ryan CHEW] started to pick up on us. We started to feel the pressure when they won [the second game]. Then we struggled a bit in the third one but at some point we found out what we needed to do and we helped each other. It was a big goal of ours here. We knew we were the favorites, that brought some pressure for us. I am glad we could deal with it.”
Nyl YAKURA (Gold Medallist – Badminton – Men’s Doubles) on the dynamic between him and partner Jason HO-SHUE throughout the match:
“We were really good, connecting really well at the beginning. That’s why the first set we won quite comfortably, I don’t think they could match our pace. But then I think they started to read what we wanted to do a bit, and then we panicked. So that’s why we lost the second and the first bit of the third. And then the third, we start to figure out what was working, and we just stuck to that, right until the end and it paid off.”
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. Going into 2019, Canada ranked #1 in terms of all-time medals and all-time gold medals won in three sports at the Pan Am Games. Which sports are they?
A. Badminton (Gold: 17, Total: 49) Rugby 7s (Gold: 3, Total: 3) and Squash (Gold: 14, Total: 34)
-30-
MEDIA CONTACT:
Josh Su, Media Relations Lead
Canadian Olympic Committee
Peru: +51 1 920 259 209
WhatsApp: 647-464-4060
E: jsu@olympic.ca