Elizabeth Pelton, of the United States, left, glides out of a turn as Brazil's Fernanda Alvarenga approaches the wall during a preliminary heat of the women's 200m backstroke swimming event at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Elizabeth Pelton, of the United States, left, glides out of a turn as Brazil's Fernanda Alvarenga approaches the wall during a preliminary heat of the women's 200m backstroke swimming event at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Walton Eller, of the United States, left, and Guatemala's Fernando Brol compete during the shooting men's double trap final at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday Oct. 20, 2011. Eller won gold and set a new Pan American record. (AP Photo/Bernardo De Niz)
Anne Pelton, gold medal, center, Bonnie Brandon, silver medal, left, of the United States, and Mexico'a Fernanda Gonzales, bronze medal pose for a photo during the medal ceremony of women's 200m backstroke at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Elizabeth Pelton, of the United States, strokes during the women's swimming 200m backstroke final at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. Pelton won the gold medal and set a new Pan American record. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Elizabeth Pelton, of the United States, Left, greets teammate Bonnie Brandon, of the United States, after the women's swimming 200m backstroke final at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. Pelton won the gold medal and Brandon the silver medal. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) ? Gold proved to be scarce for the United States on Thursday at the Pan American Games.
After days of winning title after title, the Americans stalled a bit on Day 6, earning only two gold medals ? one in swimming and one in shooting.
"We had a meeting about winning the gold," American swimmer Elizabeth Pelton said after finishing first in the women's 200-meter backstroke, the final swimming event of the night. "Definitely was the goal for tonight."
Besides Pelton's victory, the United States also earned its sixth shooting gold of the games and 12th medal in the sport when Glenn Eller won the men's double trap.
Although gold was tough to find in Mexico on Thursday, the medals still came. With 19 medal events on the program, Americans won 16 medals overall to increase their lead at the top of the table.
The United States now has 34 gold and 98 overall, while Brazil remains in second place with 14 gold and 42 overall.
Pelton avoided an American whitewash at the top of the swimming podium by winning the evening's final gold. Her winning time of 2 minutes, 8.99 seconds bettered the previous Pan American Games record of 2:10.57, set by American swimmer Teresa Crippen four years ago in Rio de Janeiro. Teammate Bonnie Brandon earned silver.
The American women have excelled in the swimming pool. Entering Thursday's session they had won all but one of the gold medals, but Ashley McGregor of Canada took the women's 200 breaststroke.
"I don't think we are lacking at all as far as energy goes, but it's been a long meet," said American swimmer Michelle McKeehan, who won bronze in that race behind teammate Haley Spencer. "And it's a long meet at the Olympics, too, so hopefully we can just take this and learn from it to try to keep our energy very high."
Also, Olympic champion Cesar Cielo won another "splash and dash" gold medal, defending his title in the men's 50-meter freestyle. The Brazilian won in a Pan American Games record 21.58 seconds.
"I had a target to swim as close as I could or better than I did in the world championships," said Cielo, who is a two-time world champion in the event and also won Olympic gold in Beijing. "I wasn't thinking about the record, I just wanted to improve my time and try to do the best I could."
It was Cielo's third gold medal of this year's games. He also won the 100 freestyle and helped Brazil take gold in the 400 relay.
Albert Subirats of Venezuela won the men's 100 butterfly, followed by Eugene Godsoe in second and Chris Brady in third.
"I've been looking up to Albert for a long time," Godsoe said. "I'm humbled. I'm proud. But I'm coming for him next time."
Canada and Cuba won the most golds on the day, with the Canadians claiming five and Cuba sweeping all four of the day's Greco-Roman wrestling titles.
In softball, the six-time defending champion Americans gave up five runs in the first inning but still beat Canada 12-5 to improve their record to 6-0.
"As long as I have been coaching Team USA and been involved with this program, I don't think we have ever been down 5 and come back against a quality team like Canada," U.S. head coach Ken Eriksen said. "I thought our kids kept their heads on really well."
The Americans, who close out the preliminaries against Argentina on Friday, are the No. 1-seeded team heading into the playoff round. The semifinals are set for Saturday and the final is Sunday.
The U.S. women's volleyball team added a bronze medal before Brazil defeated defending champion Cuba 3-2 in the final.
American tennis player Irina Falconi advanced to the women's final early Thursday, beating Florencia Molinero of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals.
"There were a lot of ups and downs for both of us, a lot of changes in momentum," Falconi said. "I think I could've served better, could've been a bit more consistent. But against these players it's never easy."
In Friday's final, Falconi will face Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, who beat Christina McHale of the United States 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Associated Presskevin federline mega millions amy smart michael jackson dead michael jackson dead prickly pear prickly pear
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.