Steacy and Zelinka win gold; silver for Felicien, Christopher and Forrester; bronze for Whyte
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
RIO- James Steacy of Lethbridge , Alta., and Jessica Zelinka of London , Ont., won gold medals in the hammer throw and heptathlon respectively on Wednesday to highlight a six-medal day for Canada in track and field at the Pan American Games.
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In addition, Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont., and Angela Whyte of Edmonton took silver and bronze in the women’s 100 hurdles and Tyler Christopher of Edmonton and Nicole Forrester of Toronto each added a silver in the men’s 400 and women’s high jump respectively.
Canada’s medal count in track and field stands at four gold, three silver and a bronze. At the 2003 Games, Canada won 10 medals including three gold. There are still three days of track and field to go at the Games.
In the men’s hammer throw, Steacy won the gold with a 73.77 metre toss which he reached on his second of six attempts. Kibwe Johnson of the U.S. , was second at 73.23 and Juan Ignacio Cerro of Argentina was third at 72.12.
‘’It couldn’t have gone better for me at this point in the season,’’ said Steacy, 23, second at the Commonwealth Games last year. ‘’It was a nice solid and consistent performance. To throw that far here was better than I would have expected. I knew when I let it go, it was a good one.
In the heptathlon, Zelinka won the gold with 6,136 points. She was third in the javelin and 800-metre and sixth in the long jump. On Tuesday, she won the 100 hurdles and shot put, was second in the 200 and seventh in the high jump. Gretchen Quintana of Cuba was second at 6,000 and Lucimara Silva of Brazil third at 5,873.
The women’s 100 hurdles final came down to a photo finish between Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Deloreen Ennis-London of Jamaica and Canadian record holder Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont. Both clocked 12.65 but Ennis-London got the nod for gold. Angela Whyte of Edmonton took the bronze in 12.72.
In the men’s 400 final, Chris Brown of the Bahamas was the winner in 44.85. World championship medallist Tyler Christopher of Edmonton was second in 45.05 and Chris Lloyd of third in 45.40. Christopher, the top qualifier for the final, said he never heard the start gun and thought there was initially a false start.
In the women’s high jump, Maria Romary Rifka of Mexico and Forrester both cleared 1.95 metres. Rifka was awarded the gold because she cleared the height on her first attempt while Forrester needed two tries. Both missed all three attempts at 1.97.
In the men’s 400 hurdles, Adam Kunkel of Paisley, Ont., qualified second for the final in 49.27.
In the men’s 200 sprint semifinals, Jared Connaughton of New Haven , P.E.I., missed a berth in the final by 0.03 seconds with the ninth fastest time while Brian Barnett of Edmonton was also eliminated placing 10th.
In the women’s 200-metre Adrienne Power of Halifax was eliminated in the semifinals with the 10th fastest time.
Track and field competition resumes on Friday.
Men's Hammer Throw Final
1. Jim Steacy, 73.77 metres - CANADA
2. Kibwe Johnson, 73.23m - USA
3. Juan Ignacio Cerra, 72.12m - ARGENTINA
Jim Steacy bio
Heptathlon
1. Jessica Zelinka, 6136 points - CANADA
2. Gretchen Quintana, 6000pts - CUBA
3. Lucimara Silva, 5873pts - BRAZIL
Jessica Zelinka bio
Women's 100m Hurdles Final
1. Deloreen Ennis-London, 12.65 - JAMAICA
2. Perdita Felicien, 12.65 - CANADA
3. Angela Whyte, 12.72 - CANADA
Perdita Felicien bio
Angela Whyte bio
Men's 400m
1. Chris Brown, 44.85 - BAHAMAS
2. Tyler Christopher, 45.05 - CANADA
3. Chris Lloyd, 45.40 - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Tyler Christopher bio
Women's High Jump
1. Marla Rosemary Rifka, 1.96 metres - MEXICO
2. Nicole Forrester, 1.96m - CANADA
3. Levern Spencer, 1.87m - LCA
Nicole Forrester bio
Full results.
More to come...
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