Thursday, August 13
Podium Finishes:
Cycling - Road (2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
On the final day of cycling, Team USA hauled in six medals to secure the top spot in the overall Parapan American medal count with 19 combined road and track medals. Fresh off her first world championship victory, Jill Walsh (21:55.30) prevailed over the field to claim the mixed time trials T1-2 gold medal, and Ryan Boyle (22:13.74) walked away with bronze. Brian Sheridan (17:11.44) and Will Groulx (17:38.46) went 1-2 in the mixed time trials H1-5, while Joe Berenyi (28:71.91) captured silver, his fourth medal of the competition and Allison Jones (28:35.43) brought home bronze in the mixed time trials C1-5. MORE.
Swimming (2 gold, 2 silver)
The U.S. team tallied a total of four medals in the pool on Wednesday, bringing its total swimming medal count to-date to 29. Mallory Weggemann won her second gold, and fifth medal of the Parapans, in the women's 100m freestyle S8. Haley Beranbaum won her first gold, and fifth medal of the competition, in the women’s 50m backstroke S5. The two U.S. silver medals were won by Anna Johannes, women's 100m backstroke S9, and Nelya Schasfoort in the Women's 50m Butterfly S7(S6-7). Friday marks the last day of swimming competition. MORE.
Table Tennis (1 silver)
On the final day of table tennis competition, U.S. players Chui Lim Ming and Tahl Leibovitz played against Brazil in the men’s team class 9-10 final. While they fought a tough battle against the Brazilians for gold, the duo came away with the silver.
Track and Field (5 gold, 4 gold, 2 bronze)
The U.S. had another all-star night in track and field, with the 11-medal crusade led by Roderick Townsend as he grabbed gold and set a world record in the men’s high jump T42/44/47. David Brown and Raymond Martin both sprinted to their second gold medals of the week, setting a Parapan Am record in the men’s 200-meter T11 and 400m T52, respectively. Chelsea McClammer and Shirley Reilly ran to a 1-2 finish in the women’s 800m T53. Gianfranco Iannotta ran away with a gold medal in the men’s 200m T52. Jeffrey Campbell recorded a Parapan Am record in the men’s discus throw F44 en route to a silver medal, with teammate David Blair locking in the bronze. Michael Wishnia threw to a silver medal in the men’s shot put F57. Johnnie Williams secured bronze in the men’s javelin throw F56. MORE.
Wheelchair Tennis (1 bronze)
Emmy Kaiser and Kaitlyn Verfuerth defeated Chile in two sets to claim the bronze medal in women’s doubles. In men’s doubles, John Rydberg and Steve Baldwin dropped their quarterfinal match to rival Canada in two sets.
Other Results:
Football 7-a-side
The 14-man U.S. men’s football 7-a-side team closed out Parapan Ams competition today with a 6-0 loss to Brazil. The team, which has already qualified for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, closed out Parapan competition with a final record of three losses and one tie.
Judo
Adnan Gutic advanced to the -73 kg. bronze medal match after winning by Ippon in the last 40 seconds against Reinaldo Carvallo of Venezuela. Gutic then tied for 5th, with Isao Cruz of Cuba, in the category after losing to Harlley Pereira of Brazil in a bronze medal match. Ryan Jones tied for 7th after losing to bronze medalist Alex Radoman of Canada in the same category. Cindy Simon finished 2nd in the women’s -57 kg with a 1-1 record, behind Lucia Araujo of Brazil. Jeff Mata lost three tough matches to opponents from Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina, and finished 5th in the men’s -73 kg category. Competition continues tomorrow with several U.S. athletes competing.
Sitting Volleyball
The U.S. Parapan Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team, ranked third in the world, is one victory away from claiming the first-ever women’s sitting volleyball Parapan American Games title after topping Cuba 25-4, 25-12, 25-8 in the semifinal round today. Team USA, undefeated in four Parapan Am Games matches, will face Brazil in Friday’s gold-medal match. MORE.
For the first time since the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the men’s team qualified for Rio after defeating Canada 26-24, 25-23, 16-25, 25-21 in a hard-fought semifinal battle. To reach that goal during the Parapan Am Games, the U.S. either needed to win the tournament or finish second to Brazil, the 2016 Paralympic Games host - both the U.S. and Brazil advanced to Friday’s gold-medal match set for 7:00 p.m. EST, and ensured Team USA’s qualification for Rio 2016. MORE.
Wheelchair Basketball
The undefeated U.S. women cruised past Brazil in today’s semifinal round with an 80-32 victory, and will face Canada in Friday’s gold-medal match at 6:45 p.m. EST.
The men’s team, 4-0 in the tournament thus far, returns to the court tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. EST in a semifinal match against Argentina.
Wheelchair Rugby
After going a perfect 5-0 coming into tonight’s semi-final, the U.S. remains undefeated beating Colombia 65-28. Tonight’s top scorers for the U.S. include Clayton Brackett (Birmingham, Alabama) with 20 and Rob Deller (Marietta, Georgia) with 15. Tonight’s semi-final wins by the U.S. and Canada bring the countries back together for what is sure to be a world-class show down for Friday night’s gold medal final at 9 p.m. EST. MORE.