Canada third in medal standings as 2016 Pan Am track championships wrap up in Mexico

On Sunday, the last day of the Pan Am track championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Canada finished third in overall medal standings.

With her fourth-place overall finish in the women’s omnium, Kinley Gibson of Edmonton was the day’s top Canadian athlete.

Gibson was third overall going into the omnium’s final points race, just behind Yeny Colmenares of Colombia, the event’s second-place finisher. Though capping off her ride in fourth place, Gibson nonetheless racked up 193 points in overall standings—six points behind Colmenares. The win, meanwhile, went to Marlies Mejias of Cuba, who took gold with 231 points.

Addressing a national representation on the Pan Am track that was a mix of development riders and elite athletes, women’s endurance coach Cameron Jennings noted what the squad’s performance means in the long run. “For the girls to do a 4:21 in the team pursuit, where they won gold, is a very encouraging sign. And for Jasmin [Glaesser] and Ariane [Bonhomme] to both podium in the points race and Jasmin in the individual pursuit also—I think it’s been a great Pan Am championships and is very promising for the next generation of riders.”

On the men’s side, Stefan Ritter of Edmonton—who had a commanding Pan Am championships with a pair of record-setting rides—and Joel Archambault of Ste.-Christine, Que. both advanced through the keirin to its final heat, ultimately taking fifth and sixth, respectively.

“The sprint team continued to perform above expectations,” said Alex Ongaro, sprint coach. “Both Stefan and Joel won their respective heats in the keirin to make it to the final. That didn’t go quite as well as planned, but they both performed well and gained experience for the future. There were a lot of personal bests and everyone performed very well on all five days.”

“Our three [sprint] riders excelled in everything they did,” Ongaro added.

Ritter’s two records — one in the 1,000-m time trial and the other in the 200-m — were among the highlights of a strong competition for Canada’s squad, which took a total of nine medals, three of which were gold. For sprint coach Erin Hartwell, it’s also a testament to the astounding progress of Canadian track cycling since the Pan Am games in 2015, as well as the opening of the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ont.

“Stefan’s recent successes in winning the junior world championship back in July and now setting two world records in Mexico,” Hartwell said, “is testament to the game-changing expectations of Cycling Canada since the Pan Am Games last summer. That said, I cannot be more proud of Stefan for the work and dedication that he’s put in to get to this point; he’s exceeded expectations.”

“These results show our programs are positioned to develop athletes like Stefan, Hugo Barrette, Kate O’Brien, Monique Sullivan and others to a world-class standard through our system—not in spite of it.”