Tuesday, August 11
Podium Finishes:
Cycling - Track (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
Joe Berenyi added a third Parapan American gold medal to his Toronto 2015 collection, sprinting past opponents from Canada and Colombia in the men’s individual pursuit C1-3. Samantha Heinrich (4:03.723) secured the women’s individual pursuit C1-5 silver medal, less than seven tenths of a seconds behind the leader, followed by teammates Shawn Morelli (4:07.199) and Jennifer Schuble (4:12.530) coming in third and fourth. Chris Murphy (4:49.916) finished fourth in the men’s individual pursuit class 4-5 finals.
Swimming (3 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze)
U.S. swimmers continued their medal haul, winning nine medals in the pool today. The dynamic duo of Reilly Boyt and Sophia Herzog packed a one-two punch in not one race, but two; Boyt and Herzog won gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB6, and then in a little more than a hour, turned around repeated the feat in the women’s 200m IM SM6 (SM5-6). Mallory Weggemann won gold, her fourth medal of the Parapan Am competition, in the women’s 200m IM SM8 (SM7-8). Anna Johannes won silver in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB8. The three bronze medals were won by Roderick Sewell, men’s 100m breaststroke SB6; Lucas McCrory, men’s 200m IM SM7; and Serafina King, women’s 400m freestyle S10. MORE.
Track and Field (7 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze)
Team USA continued athletics success on day two of competition, bringing home a total of 20 medals. Jarryd Wallace defended his 2011 Parapan American title and set a new 100-meter world record (10:71), previously held by teammate Richard Browne. The U.S. clocked in their first track & field podium sweep of Toronto 2015 in the men’s 100m T52, with Ray Martin (17.01) crossing the line first, followed by teammates Gianfranco Iannotta (17.39) and Paul Nitz (17.46), which was quickly followed by another sweep in the men’s 100m T42 by Shaquille Vance (12.69), Regas Woods (13.26) and Desmond Jackson (13.29). MORE.
Other Results:
Goalball
Offense prevailed as the U.S. Women’s Goalball Team shutout their third Americas team with a win over Guatemala. In a close game against Argentina, the U.S. Men’s Goalball team solidified another win before semifinals on Friday. MORE.
Powerlifting
Jake Schrom was the final U.S. athlete to compete in powerlifting. Today he lifted 186kg on his second attempt, which landed him in fourth place in the men’s up to 88kg class. While the team didn’t win any medals, multiple athletes had improved lifts, which will help the team with rankings in the lead up to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Sitting Volleyball
The U.S. Parapan Men’s Sitting Team overwhelmed Costa Rica 25-12, 25-9, 25-17 Tuesday morning to improve to 4-0 in the Parapan Ams. Team USA, which needs to either win the Parapan American Games or finish second to Brazil to earn a berth into the 2016 Rio Paralympics next summer, concludes the preliminary round against Brazil (4-0) in a battle of undefeated teams on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. Brazil has already qualified for the 2016 Paralympic Games as the host country. MORE.
The U.S. Parapan Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team, ranked third in the world, used balanced scoring in downing fourth-ranked Brazil 25-20, 25-20, 25-11 to conclude the Parapan American Games pool play undefeated. The team will now meet Cuba (0-3) in the first semifinal on Thursday. MORE.
Table Tennis
Lim Ming Chui and Tahl Leibovitz directed their efforts to team competition with an easy three-set victory over Puerto Rico in the men’s team class 9-10, followed by another quick win against Argentina. Ari Arratia and Daryl Sterling, Jr. defeated Costa Rica in the first men’s team class 6-8 preliminary round match.
Wheelchair Basketball
The U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team continued its domination on the court against El Salvador today, winning 77-8, keeping its undefeated record alive. Abby Dunkin was the U.S. high scorer with 17 points, while Kimmie Champion netted 16, and Darlene Hunter also contributed 10. The U.S. women’s team will get a break on Wednesday and will advance to semifinals on Thursday against an opponent yet to be determined. The men’s team didn’t compete today; they will continue quarterfinals action on Wednesday against an opponent still to be determined.
Wheelchair Rugby
USA Wheelchair Rugby put another notch in the win column tonight at the Mississauga Centre beating Colombia 71-25. This brings the U.S. to 4-0 in round robin play. Top scorers for the U.S. were Clayton Brackett (Birmingham, Alabama) with 15 and Josh Wheeler (San Tan Valley, Arizona) and Chuck Aoki (Minneapolis, Minneapolis) each with 13. A sell-out crowd is expected for Wednesday night as the U.S. faces rival Canada at 8 p.m. EST in a game that is sure not to be missed. MORE.
Wheelchair Tennis
After cruising past Chile in today’s rescheduled men’s doubles quarterfinals match, Steve Baldwin and Jon Rydberg fell 0-2 to an Argentinian pair in the semifinals. The duo of Emmy Kaiser and Kaitlyn Verfuerth were defeated 1-2 by the Colombians. Kaiser, Rydberg and Verfuerth return to action tomorrow in the singles semifinals, starting at 10 a.m. EST.