SASKATOON – A team of athletes from Saskatchewan participated at the 2015 Pan American Games which concluded in Toronto on the weekend. Twelve of them captured 14 medals.
Here’s how athletes from the province helped out Canada on the podium.
Brianne Theisen-Eaton and her teammates won bronze on July 25 in the women’s 4×400 metre relay with a time of 3:27.74. The United States won gold and Jamaica won silver. The 26-year-old Humboldt product also placed fourth in the women’s long jump.
North Battleford pitcher Andrew Albers, 29, captured a gold medal on the men’s baseball team. Canada edged the United States 7-6 in the final on July 19.
READ MORE: Blue Jays sign North Battleford, Sask. pitcher to minor-league deal
Two female competitors from Saskatchewan were also on the women’s baseball team. Saskatoon’s Melissa Armstrong, 24, and Swift Current’s Bradi Wall, 23, now have silver medals. On July 26, the United States beat Canada 11-3 in the final.
In the sport of racquetball, Tim Landeryou, 31, captured two bronze at the Pan Am Games. On July 23, the Saskatoon product and Quebec’s Vincent Gagnon lost 2-0 to Bolivia in the men’s doubles semifinal.
On July 25, Canada had to settle for third place with the men’s and women’s racquetball teams losing to the United States in the semifinals. Landeryou and Regina’s Christine Richardson, 25, received bronze medals.
Dalmeny’s Megan Gurski, 21, arrived at the Saskatoon airport Monday with a gold medal hanging around her neck. On July 26, the United States women’s softball team lost their first game of the tournament to Canada in the final.
“We said ‘we have nothing to lose,’ so we just went out there and gave it our all,” said Gurski.
“We were battling, we literally just gave all our energy in that game and just let it all out.”
Nikole Todd, 25, won two silver medals playing squash. On July 14, she lost 2-1 with Ontario’s Samantha Cornett to the United States in women’s doubles. The Regina product won her match but Canada lost to the United States in the women’s team event on July 17.
READ MORE: Canada wins volleyball bronze at Pan Am Games
Canada placed third in men’s volleyball with a 3-1 victory over Puerto Rico in front of 4,900 spectators. The 29-year-old captain Gavin Schmitt, of Saskatoon, led the matchup with 25 points and now has a bronze medal to show for it.
Humboldt’s Rusty Malinoski won gold for his country in men’s wakeboarding. The 31-year-old finished with a score of 89.11, ahead of the United State’s Daniel Powers and Venezuela’s Juan Mendez.
READ MORE: Canada’s Rusty Malinoski wins wakeboarding gold at Pan Am Games
Lastly, is a pair who played on the Canadian men’s water polo team. Regina’s Kevin Graham, 29, and Drinkwater’s Robin Randall, 35, gained bronze medals when they helped the team defeat Argentina 16-8 on July 15.
Other athletes who represented Saskatchewan:
- Aerial Arthur – Saskatoon: Shooting
- Cory Niefer – Saskatoon: Shooting
- Tait Nystuen – Regina: Athletics
- David Samayoa – Regina: Weightlifting
- Taryn Suttie – Hanley: Athletics
- Richard Weinberger – Moose Jaw: Swimming
Team Canada was made up of roughly 720 competitors and finished the Pan Am Games with 217 medals. Only the United States won more medals.
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