4 medals for Canadians on final day of track racing at Parapan American Games

Canadian paracyclists closed out racing at Velódromo Parque Peñalolén during the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games in Chile, taking four medals.

Following her silver win in the women’s C1-5 individual time trial on Nov. 23, 23-year-old Paralympian para-alpine skier Mel Pemble from Victoria secured the second position in the women’s C1-3 individual pursuit qualifying. She trailed behind American Jamie Renee Whitmore, her competitor in the subsequent gold medal final. In a closely contested battle, Pemble (4:10.103m) outpaced her opponent by a mere 0.109 seconds, claiming victory. Paula Perez Caballero (4:14.851m) took the bronze.

“I feel really surprised,” Pemble said. “The individual pursuit is not my best event, to be honest, so qualifying second was a bit of a surprise. I wasn’t super happy with my performance with the time that I got; I knew I had more in me. It made the battle even sweeter in the final, in terms of having nothing to lose, and I went out with a really good plan. Everything that could have happened, happened. I had to kick it off a notch in the last kilometre, and it paid off.”

Mel Pemble races to GOLD in the women’s 3000m C1-3 individual pursuit at the Parapan Am Games 🇨🇦🥇 pic.twitter.com/NoBDSrygHl

— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) November 24, 2023

Keely Shaw, a silver medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the same discipline, approached the women’s C4-5 event with determination after narrowly missing the podium in the road time trial on Nov. 19. Inspired by her performances throughout the week, the 29-year-old athlete from Saskatoon, Sask,, set a new Parapan American Games qualifying record in the C4 women’s event, completing it in 3:46.93 to advance to the gold medal final. However, she was bested by American Samatha Bosco (3:45.752), who secured the gold. Paula Ossa Veloza of Colombia claimed the bronze.

“Silver can be a hard pill to swallow with gold on the table,” Shaw said. “At the end of the day, our process was exactly what it needed to be. We came here knowing it was going to be a rehearsal for the upcoming World Championships and then later on the Paralympic Games, so I think we learned a lot about what we needed to do.”

On a quest for his third consecutive medal across three races, track newcomer Alex Hayward, 26, from Quispamsis, N.B, aimed to complete his medal collection in the men’s C1-3 individual pursuit. Hayward, who previously secured gold in the men’s C1-5 road time trial and bronze in the men’s C1-5 track time trial, shattered the Parapan American Games men’s C3 record during qualifying with an impressive time of 3:27.869m. This achievement propelled him automatically into the gold-medal final against Colombia’s Alejandro Perera Arango (3:32.491m), where he not only emerged victorious but also surpassed his own record to claim the gold.

“This is the first time I’m doing two pursuits back-to-back,” Hayward said. “Having had a bit of a rough season, to prove to myself that I can do two pursuits back-to-back and put down my two best times ever felt amazing.”

Expressing satisfaction with his performance after a hiatus from cycling due to injury, 27-year-old Rio 2016 Paralympian Mike Sametz from Calgary, Alta., who won bronze in the C1-5 Individual Time Trial on November 19, qualified third in the Men’s C1-3 Individual Pursuit. This qualified him for the bronze medal final, which he won by catching Colombia’s Esneider Muñoz.

“This is my first pursuit since the Rio Paralympic Games, so it’s nice to see where I’m at,” Sametz added.