Jill Walsh poses with her gold medal at the 2019 Parapan American Games on Aug. 30, 2019 in Lima, Peru.

LIMA, Peru – Clara Brown (Falmouth, Maine) and Jill Walsh (Syracuse, New York) led Team USA to a five-medal performance on the first day of road cycling races at the Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru. Brown and Walsh won gold in the individual time trial for the women’s C1-5 and mixed T1-2 classes, respectively. 

Top Highlights from Road Cycling
Golden girls – Brown and Walsh both took home gold to open road cycling races in Lima. En route to her third Parapan American medal following track cycling gold (individual pursuit) and bronze (time trial), Brown won the women’s time trial C1-5. Walsh won her first medal of the Games with a top finish in the mixed time trial T1-2 class. 

Lyons’ breakthrough – Brandon Lyons (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania) earned his first individual international podium with silver in the mixed time trial H1-5 at the Parapan American Games. The 29-year-old is making his Parapan American debut in Lima and has previously won two world cup medals earlier last summer as part of the men’s handcycle team relay in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, and Ostend, Belgium. 

Successful transition – Brown and Samantha Bosco (Upland, California) were both successful in their transitions from the track to the road, winning gold and bronze, respectively, in the women’s C1-5 class. The factored time trial event combined classes C1-5 and concluded with both women winning their third medals of the Parapan American Games. 

Team USA Results
5 medals (2 golds, 2 silvers, 1 bronze)

Gold (2): Clara Brown (Falmouth, Maine) – women’s time trial C1-5 (29:57.640); Jill Walsh (Syracuse, N.Y.) – mixed time trial T1-2 (34:14.185)

Silver (2): Brandon Lyons (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) – mixed time trial H1-5 (31:41.972); Matthew Rodriguez (San Diego, Calif.) – mixed time trial T1-2 (34:17.450)

Bronze (1): Samantha Bosco (Upland, Calif.) – women’s time trial C1-5 (30:27.426)

Full results can be found at TeamUSA.org/Parapan2019 and Lima 2019’s website. 

Quotes
Clara Brown
“I’m coming off of a high from the track, which was a really great start to the week. It’s just completely different to get on the road. I had a decent day on the course yesterday and was a little nervous coming in, but I just felt awesome right when I started. I went down the start ramp and I thought, 'This is my day, I feel great.’”

Brandon Lyons
“I was super excited. The course did not favor me because there’s a big hill and I’m a bigger guy, so I was excited to come out with a medal in an individual event leading into world championships next week. I came here with a mindset of trying to get my first individual medal so I could get ready for world championships.”

Matthew Rodriguez
“There’s really not one word for it. I’m just totally amazed and humbled to be around so many elite athletes. This is all a dream to me.”  

What To Watch
Cycling competition concludes with road races on Sunday at the San Miguel Circuit in Lima, Peru. Bosco and Brown will both seek their fourth medals of the Parapan American Games in the women’s C1-3 and C4-5 events, while Joe Berenyi (Aurora, Illinois) will aim to win his third of the Games in the men’s C1-3 class. Walsh, Rodriguez (San Diego, California) and Lyons will look to build on their podium performances from today heading into Sunday’s final competition in the mixed road race T1-2 and men’s road race H3-5. 

Get Connected
Coverage of the 2019 U.S. Parapan American Team can be found at TeamUSA.org/Parapan2019. Visit TeamUSA.org/USADaily to sign up to receive the USA Daily, a digital news blast that provides Team USA results and highlights each night via email during the Games. Livestream of the Parapan American Games Lima 2019 is also available on TeamUSA.org/Live.

Follow U.S. Paralympics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updated results throughout the Parapan American Games Lima 2019.