Canada’s men’s quadruple scull, with Kingston’s Rob Gibson in the stroke seat, won the gold medal Tuesday morning on the Pan American Games rowing course in St. Catharines.
The Canadian boat, whose crew also included Matthew Buie of Duntroon, Ont., Julien Bahain of Laval, Que., and Will Dean of Kelowna, B.C., led from start to finish, and withstood a challenge at the end by the Cuban crew, to win in five minutes 42.22 seconds.
In the final 1,000 metres the Cubans shaved almost two seconds off Canada’s lead, but the race ended with Gibson et al., enjoying a 2.17-second margin of victory.
The day began with competitors facing a threat of thunderstorms under a cloudy sky, but by the time the men’s quad final took the water, there was a fair tailwind at the athletes’ backs.
It was second gold medal by Kingston-bred rowers on the Royal Canadian Henley course, following a gold Monday by Will Crothers in the men’s four.
Gibson’s medal brought to five the number of medals—all gold—won by Kingston-connected competitors in the first four days of the XVII Games, including gold won by women’s rugby players Brittany Benn of Napanee and Nadia Popov, the former Queen’s Gael, and men’s rugby player Matt Mullins, also an ex-Gael.
For the third day in a row, racing was delayed by light winds on the Pan Am sailing course on Lake Ontario off Royal Canadian Yacht Club.
Kingston’s Danielle Boyd had a sixth-place finish in women’s 49er FX racing, where just two of three scheduled races were held. In an odd turn of events, all six boats were disqualified from Tuesday’s second race.
Victoria Travascio of Argentina continues to lead the fleet with 10 points in a performance that includes two wins and a pair of second-place finishes among the six races conducted so far. Boyd and skipper Erin Rafuse of Halifax have 29 points, with two fifth-place finishes standing as their best so far.
In J-24 competition, Queen’s grad Terry McLaughlin was third and second in two races Tuesday, both of which were won by Matias Pereira of Argentina. McLaughlin and Pereira are tied atop the standings, each with six points after five races, with Pereira having won three races and McLaughlin the other two.
Evert McLaughlin, the other Queen’s grad in the sailing regatta, was fifth and ninth Tuesday in open Snipe racing. He stands sixth overall with 17 points, 10 behind co-leaders Luis Soubie of Argentina and Raul Rios de Choudens of Puerto Rico. Rios de Choudens won one of Tuesday’s races, while American Augie Diaz captured the other.
Wednesday morning, Crothers, Gibson and fellow Kingston Collegiate grad Nicolas Pratt will all race in the finals of their respective events on the final day of rowing competition in St. Catharines—Crothers in the men’s eight, Gibson in the men’s single and Pratt as part of the lightweight men’s four.
The sailors will try to catch up on races lost to idle winds—wonder if anyone’s yet regretting holding this regatta in Toronto, not Kingston—as the women are scheduled to race six times and the Snipes and J-24s about to attempt three races each.
Also Wednesday, Canada’s women’s field hockey team, with Regiopolis Notre Dame grad Kate Gillis in the lineup, will play its second game of the preliminary round. The Canadians will be seeking their second straight win at 7 p.m. against Argentina.