Saturday, July 27
In the first medal match of the Pan American Games Lima 2019, U.S. taekwondo athlete Alex Lee earned gold in men’s poomsae, opening a day of competition that saw Team USA athletes earn 12 additional podium finishes and a qualification for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Below are recaps of Team USA’s performances for the day. For live scores and results, please click here.
Bowling (2 golds)
After finishing the first block of the competition just 43 points behind the Dominican Republic, the U.S. women’s doubles team of Stefanie Johnson and Shannon O’Keefe bowled a strong second block to propel them to the gold-medal finish. The team earned a grand total of 5317 points, 264 points ahead of the second-place team.
The U.S. men’s doubles team also earned a medal, a silver. Entering into the second day of competition in second place, the U.S. men’s doubles team of Jakob Butturff and Nick Pate bowled another strong six games each to hold onto the silver-medal spot behind Puerto Rico, despite strong competition from Colombia, which finished third. The duo would later be upgraded to the gold medal following the findings of a doping violation from Puerto Rico.
Gymnastics (1 gold)
In women’s artistic gymnastics, Team USA earned gold in the team event, besting the competition with a total of 171.000 points, more than 10 points ahead of the second-place country.
Modern Pentathlon (1 silver)
Team USA’s Samantha Achterberg won the silver medal in women’s modern pentathlon, thereby qualifying for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Achterberg earned a strong second-place finish in her swimming heat and a first-place finish in the laser-run portions on her way to the podium. Isabella Isaksen earned 10th in the event, and Jessica Davis finished 23rd.
Roller Sports (1 silver)
After finishing the free program’s short program in sixth place, John Burchfield skated in the long program to earn 91.37 points, the second-best long program score of the event. Burchfield’s strong performance led him to jump in the rankings and earn the overall silver medal for the men’s free program.
On the women's side, Team USA’s Alexis Herbert earned a score of 30.88. This score, when added to her short program score from July 26, gave Herbert a sixth-place overall finish.
Squash (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
Fellow Americans Amanda Sobhy and Olivia Blatchford Clyne faced off against each other for the women’s singles title. After Blatchford Clyne won the first game, 11-7, Sobhy battled back and won three straight games (11-5, 11-7, 11-8) to win match. With this result, Sobhy successfully defended her 2015 Pan American gold medal in women’s singles, and Blatchford Clyne improved upon her 2011 Pan American bronze medal in the event.
Earlier in the day, both Americans earned victories against Canadians in their semifinal matches to qualify for the finals. Blatchford Clyne defeated Samantha Cornett in three games, 11-7, 11-5 and 11-6. Sobhy defeated Hollie Naughton in three games, 11-6, 12-10 and 11-8.
Blatchford Clyne earned her second medal of the day with her third-place finish with Andrew Douglas in the mixed doubles semifinal. The U.S. duo faced Mexico on the court, ultimately falling in two games. Despite the loss, the team’s advancement to the semifinal earned them the bronze medal.
Taekwondo (1 gold, 3 bronzes)
Team USA’s Alex Lee captured the first gold medal of the Pan American Games Lima 2019, winning the men’s individual poomsae event in the early morning. Outscoring his competitors on both his first and second patterns, Lee earned an average score of 7.660 from the judges to capture the top spot on the podium.
In women’s individual poomsae, Karyn Real earned the bronze medal, marking the Team USA’s second podium finish in taekwondo for the day. Real earned an average score of 7.510 from the judges to capture her third-place finish.
David Kim earned the bronze medal in the men’s -58 kg. event. Kim’s tournament was off to a strong start when he bested Canada’s Jose Diaz in the round of eight, winning by point gap to advance to the quarterfinals. Facing Argentina’s Lucas Guzman saw a change in momentum, as Kim was defeated by golden point. Earning a bye in the repechage, Kim was able to advance to the bronze medal match, where he defeated Venezuela’s Yohandri Granado by gold point to earn his spot on the podium.
Monique Rodriguez found similar success in the women’s -49 kg. event, earning another bronze medal for Team USA. In the round of eight, Rodriguez defeated Venezuela’s Virginia Dellan by final score to advance to the quarterfinals. After facing Brazil’s Talisca Jezierski, who won by final score, Rodriguez earned a bye in the repechage to the bronze medal match, where she won by final score against Cuba’s Yania Aguirre to claim the bronze medal for Team USA's fourth taekwondo podium finish of the day.
Track and Field (1 silver)
Bethany Sachtleben won the silver medal in the women’s marathon, earning a personal best time of 2:31:20. American teammate Samantha Roecker also ran a personal best, crossing the finish line at 2:32:49 for fifth place.
In the men’s marathon, Augustus Maiyo ran a personal best time of 2:12:25 to finish just off the podium in fourth place. Teammate Aaron Braun finished in 14th place with a time of 2:21:55.
Other results:
Basketball – 3x3
The women’s 3x3 team earned a 3-0 record in first day of the preliminary round, defeating Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Led by Sabrina Ionescu’s and Ruthy Hebard’s nine points each, Team USA earned a 21-15 victory over Argentina, reaching the 21-point victory-threshold with 19 seconds left in regulation. The team went on to earn its second win of preliminary play by besting Uruguay 21-5 with two minutes left in regulation. To end the day, the U.S. earned another 21-5 victory, this time against Brazil.
On the men’s side, Team USA split its first two games of preliminary play. In the team’s first game, the U.S. earned a 21-14 victory against Venezuela with 1:36 left in regulation. In the second game of the day, the team was edged out by Brazil in a suspenseful game. Neither team earned the victory-threshold’s 21 points to end the game early, but Brazil held onto the one-point lead to the end of the ten minutes of regulation, winning the game, 20-19.
Boxing
In women’s bantam (54-57 kg.), Yarisel Ramirez won her quarterfinal competition against El Salvador’s Yamileth Solorzano. Besting Solorzano in two of three rounds, Ramirez clinched the victory to advance to the semifinals, where she will face Brazil’s Jusielen Carqueira Romeu on July 30.
In women’s welter (64-69 kg.), Oshae Jones defeated Panama’s Atheyna Bylon, besting Bylon in all three rounds. The victory earns Jones a place in the semifinals, where she will face the Dominican Republic’s Maria Moronta Hernandez on July 30.
In the men’s light (60 kg.) quarterfinals, Bruce Carrington fell to the Dominican Republic’s Leonel De Los Santos Nunez in three rounds.
In the men’s super heavy (91+ kg.) quarterfinals, Richard Torrez Jr. earned the victory over Peru’s Luis Munoz Munayco and clinched his spot in the semifinals. Torrez Jr. will face Cuba’s Dainier Pero Justiz in the semifinal bout on July 30.
Canoe/Kayak
Jesse Lishchuk’s time of 3:39.762 in the first heat of the men’s K1 1000-meter event earned him a third-place finish, allowing him automatic advancement to the final, which takes place July 29.
In the men’s C1 1000-meter, Ian Ross finished third in his heat with a time of 4:31.018. The result earned Ross a place in the semifinal competition later that morning. In the semifinal, Ross improved upon his heat time by nearly ten seconds, finishing in 4:21.859. The improved time again earned him a third-place finish to qualify for the final, which takes place July 29.
Elena Wolgamot finished second in her heat for the women’s K1 500-meter with a time of 1:59.785. The result earned her automatic qualification to the finals, which take place July 29.
In the team’s heat for the men’s K2 1000-meter, the U.S. duo of Owen Farley-Klacik and Alex Lee finished third with a time of 3:22.471. The finish earned Farley-Klacik and Lee a spot in the semifinals, where the team finished first. The strong performance qualifies the duo for the finals, which take place July 29.
Rugby Sevens
In rugby sevens, the U.S. women continued their dominant performance at Lima 2019 with two wins. Naya Tapper led the team in the morning against Argentina, earning 15 points in Team USA’s 49-0 victory. In the afternoon, Ariana Ramsey continued her strong performance from the day before with a team-leading 15 points to help Team USA defeat Colombia, 38-0. With these victories, Team USA ends pool play with a 3-0 record and 142 unanswered points. The team will compete in the semifinals against Brazil on July 28.
The U.S. men split their two games for the day, besting Chile in the morning before falling to Brazil in the afternoon. Traivon Clark scored four of Team USA’s six tries for the day to lead the team with 20 points across the two games. Against Chile, Team USA overcame a two-point deficit from the first half to storm back, scoring 15 points (three tries) and allowing zero points in the second half to win the game, 20-7. Against Brazil, the team started strong with a 10-5 lead to finish the first half, but were unable to keep the momentum, ending the game with a narrow 10-12 defeat. The team’s 2-1 record in pool play earns the U.S. men a spot in the semifinals, where they will face Argentina on July 28.
Shooting
In women’s 10-meter air pistol, Nathalia Tobar earned eighth place in the qualification round with a total of 561-11x over six series to advance to the finals, where she also finished eighth. Fellow American Miglena Todorova also competed in the qualification round, but narrowly missed the finals, finishing ninth with a total of 558-9x.
Softball
The U.S. men’s softball team earned its second preliminary round victory, besting Cuba. After trailing for several innings, Team USA earned four key runs during the bottom of the sixth to head into the seventh inning with a 4-2 lead. While Cuba scored one more run at the top of the seventh, U.S. pitcher Tony Mancha successfully defended Team USA’s lead as the U.S. men earned the 4-3 victory.
Squash
In women’s doubles, the U.S. team of Amanda Sobhy and Sabrina Sobhy earned a semifinal victory over Chile. Team USA won the match in two straight games, 11-5 and 11-3, to earn a spot in the gold-medal match on July 28.
The U.S. duo of Chris Hanson and Todd Harrity defeated Peru in two straight games, 11-8 and 11-8, in the men’s doubles semifinals. The result earns Hanson and Harrity a place in the gold medal match, where they will face Canada on July 28.
Team Handball
The U.S. women’s team handball team earned its second preliminary round victory with a 29-11 win over Peru, with Ashley Butler and Julia Taylor scoring five goals each in the game. The success brings the team to a 2-1 record in preliminary play.
Triathlon
Sophie Chase led fellow Americans Avery Evenson and Mary Alex England in the women’s triathlon, finishing fourth with a time of 2:02:28. Evenson finished the swim in second place, but ultimately crossed the finish line with a time of 2:08:20 to earn 14th place. England crossed the finish line in 2:10:12 for 16th place.
On the men’s side, William Huffman led the U.S. with a fifth-place finish (1:51:09) in a close race, just thirty seconds behind the first-place finisher. American athletes also secured 12th and 15th place, with Austin Hindman crossing the finish line with a time of 1:52:03 and Jason West finishing with a time of 1:53:19.
Volleyball – Beach
Despite a close first set, Team USA’s Mark Burik and Ian Satterfield fell to Canada in the men’s 1/8 final, 0-2. The duo will play again in a placement match against the Dominican Republic on July 28.
Water Ski and Wakeboard
In the women’s slalom preliminary round, water ski athletes Regina Jaquess and Erika Lang both finished at the top of their heats to qualify for the event’s final, which takes place July 29.
The American men also found success in their water ski slalom heats, with Adam Pickos and Taylor Garcia both putting on strong performances to qualify for the final on July 29.
Team USA’s Mary Morgan Howell competed in heat two of the women’s wakeboard semifinal, besting the competition and qualifying for the final, which takes place on July 29.
On the men’s side, Andrew Adkison competed in the semifinals for wakeboard as well. With a third-place finish in heat one, Adkison advanced to the last chance qualifiers, where he topped the field by over three points to earn his spot in the finals on July 30.