Wednesday, August 12
Podium Finishes:
Judo (1 bronze)
Ron Hawthorne went 1-1 against opponents from Argentina and Uruguay to qualify for the men’s -60 kg. bronze-medal match, in which he beat Reinier Acosta of Cuba by 3 Shido in a long 5-minute battle to take the bronze. Robert Kim finished fourth in the men’s -66 kg., after falling Ippon to bronze-medal winner Mayco Rodrigues of Brazil.
Swimming (3 bronze)
Wednesday was a slower day at the pool for Team USA. Nine swimmers took to the water, with three coming away with medals. Lucas McCrory won bronze in the men’s100m breaststroke SB7. And in women’s competition, McClain Hermes won bronze in the 400m freestyle S13. Haley Beranbaum won her fourth medal of the Parapan Ams, a bronze, in the 50m freestyle S5 at 50.05. MORE.
Table Tennis (1 bronze)
Tahl Leibovitz and Lim Ming Chui defeated Cuba 2-0 to advance to tomorrow’s men’s team class 9-10 final where they will challenge Brazil for gold. Match is set for 10:00 a.m. EST. The women’s duo of Jennifer Johnson and Cynthia Ranii picked up a bronze in the final for women’s team class 4-5.
Track and Field (1 gold, 2 silver)
Three-time Paralympian Lex Gillette got things started for the U.S. in track and field competition on Wednesday, winning gold in the men’s long jump T11/12 and tying his own world mark in the jump. Wheelchair racer Austin Handley won his first medal of the competition, silver, in the men's 1500m T38. Teammate Erik Hightower won silver in the men’s 400m T54 final. MORE.
Other Results:
Football 7-a-side
The U.S. men’s soccer team lost to Argentina, 1-0, in a hard fought game. The U.S. team had eight shots on goal but just couldn’t find the net, while Argentina had 20 shots against the U.S. The team will face off against Brazil on Thursday.
Goalball
The U.S. Women’s Goalball Team defended its world title in a highly anticipated game against rival Canada, ending in a final score of 5-2. The U.S. Men’s Goalball Team put up its first shutout of the tournament against Puerto Rico, scoring 10 goals with less than two minutes left in the first half. Both U.S. teams will play respective Canadian teams in semifinals on Friday. With a win, U.S. women will advance to the gold medal game and the men, to the bronze medal game. MORE.
Sitting Volleyball
After keeping their opponents winless during a 4-0 start in pool play, the men’s sitting volleyball team dropped their last preliminary match to Brazil, 3-2. They will go on to compete against Canada in the semifinals tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. EST. MORE.
Wheelchair Basketball
The U.S. continued dominating the men’s division, with an easy 99-21 win over Venezuela in the quarterfinals. The men’s team will face Argentina for the semifinals tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. EST - both Team USA and Canada remain undefeated heading into the semis.
The U.S. women’s team return to action on Thursday in a semifinal game against Brazil scheduled for 8:45 p.m. EST.
Wheelchair Rugby
The last day of pool play brought wheelchair rugby rivals U.S. and Canada together for a matchup that did not disappoint. The tightly contested game shifted leads throughout four very physical periods of play ending in a 51 -51 regulation tie, and eventually led to double overtime. Taking pressure from a tight defense, Chuck Aoki took a heavy hit that left Eric Newby open in the key to make the final score that would bring the Americans ahead. With just 10 seconds on the clock, the Canadians were unable to answer the final goal, leaving Team USA as the winner with a final score of 60-59. MORE.
Wheelchair Tennis
In the semifinals, Jon Rydberg and Kaitlyn Verfuerth advanced to the men’s and women’s singles finals with 2-0 wins over Brazil and Chile, respectively. The gold-medal matches are scheduled for Friday, starting at 2:07 p.m. EST.