Pan Am Games Day 2 track recap: Men’s TP squad sets new record

On Thursday, Day 3 of track cycling at the Velódromo Parque Peñalolén took place at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Team pursuit qualification

In the men’s team pursuit qualification, Chris Ernst from Kitchener, Ont., at the age of 24, along with Michael Foley, also 24, from Milton, Ont., Carson Mattern, a 19-year-old hailing from Ancaster, Ont., and Sean Richardson, 22, from Vancouver, B.C., not only took the lead but also established a new Pan American record with a time of 3:55.981, finishing nearly almost five seconds ahead of Colombia. In the subsequent round, Ernst made way for 18-year-old Campbell Parrish from Vancouver, B.C., and the team overtook Argentina, securing a place in tomorrow’s gold medal final.

“Argentina really raced us; we were impressed with the ride they put down but managed to catch them about 3 km into the ride. We’re off to the gold final tomorrow, we’re looking forward to it,” Foley said. “It’s a young team, so we’ve used all of our riders, which is awesome as well because it shows the depth of our program. Tomorrow’s going to be hard, Colombia races so we’re going to have to give it everything.”

Men’s sprint

Following a promising start in the men’s sprint, 24-year-old Olympian Nick Wammes, from Bothwell, Ont., encountered a demanding second day of competition. He managed to secure victory in just one out of three bouts against Jair Sur Tjon En Fa (SUR), which led him to the bronze medal final. Unfortunately, in this final, Wammes was defeated in two heats by Kevin Santiago Quintero Chavarro from Colombia. The gold medal in this event was won by Nicholas Paul of Trinidad and Tobago, with Tjon En Fa securing the silver medal.

Women’s sprint

In the women’s sprint competition, Sarah Orban from Calgary, Alta., aged 28, faced a challenging contest. Although she secured the second spot in the qualifying round, she faced relegation in her 1/8 finals heats against Chile’s Daniela Alejandra Colilef Barrios. Orban demonstrated resilience in the repechage but unfortunately, she ultimately lost in the quarterfinal to Martha Bayona Pineda from Colombia. Orban’s teammate, Emy Savard from Saguenay, Que., who had previously won a gold medal in the team sprint on October 24, also participated in the women’s sprint. Despite being only 20 years old and making her national team debut in Santiago, she finished in 13th place. The women’s sprint competition will conclude tomorrow.

Women’s omnium

In the women’s omnium event, Devaney Collier, 25, from Edmonton, Alta, finished ninth place in the scratch race, 11th place in the tempo race, and an impressive fourth place in the elimination race.  After the points race, her performance resulted in finishing fifth overall.  The gold medal was won by Yareli Acevedo Mendoza from Mexico, while Lina Marcela Hernandez from Colombia claimed the silver, and Catalina Anaís Soto Campos representing Switzerland took home the bronze.