Multiple medals for Team Canada at Parapan American Games on the track

Canada had a solid day on Thursday at the Velódromo Parque Peñalolén during the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games in Chile, taking two additional medals for their achievements.

Athletes in the C1-5 categories participated in the individual time trial. PyeongChang 2018 Paralympian Mel Pemble and Alexandre Hayward claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Pemble, from Victoria, B.C., completed the race in 37.565 seconds, falling just 0.701 seconds short of victory, which ultimately went to Sabrina Da Silva Custodia of Brazil. Paula Ossa Veloza of Colombia secured the bronze medal.

“I’m feeling amazing, mainly for the personal best, and, of course, the medal is a bonus. I knew my times and how it reflected on the competitors here, but anything can happen on race day,” Pemble said.
Alex Hayward, a former wheelchair basketball player from Quispamsis, N.B., who recently transitioned to track cycling, seized the opportunity following his victory in the C1-5 men’s individual road time trial on November 19. His time of 1:06.566m earned him the third step on the podium, with gold going to Fabián Edwin Matiz Ruiz of Colombia (1:04.388m) and silver to Carlos Vargas Villanueva (1:06.538m).

Alex Hayward just won his second medal at these Parapan American Games. He has won both on the road 🥇 and the track 🥉 @CyclingCanada pic.twitter.com/N2aG7hEFuD

— Canadian Paralympic Committee (@CDNParalympics) November 23, 2023

“I came here with no expectations,” Hayward said. “This is far from my event. I think I’ve only done one other kilo in my life earlier this year, and it was five seconds slower. I came here looking for a personal best, and I achieved that, and it just happened to be enough for a podium. Tomorrow’s individual pursuit is probably the event that I’ve been looking forward to the most; I’ve had a bit of a bad run at the worlds, and I would like to redeem myself.”

Although not reaching the podium, Paralympic medallists Mike Sametz of Calgary, Alta., and Keely Shaw of Saskatoon, Sask., were content with their performances. Both set personal bests, with times of 1:08.707m and 40.179s, taking fifth and seventh place, respectively.

“It was a super fun day out there,” Shaw said. “The track was running fast. Personally, I got over a two-second personal best, so while I wasn’t on the podium, I think there’s a lot to take away from today. It’s a really good place to be and a really good mile marker before we go to Brazil in March for the world championships.”