Canadian Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil of London, Ontario set the Pan American Games record on Sunday in winning gold in the women’s 100 metre butterfly at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Mac Neil posted a winning swimming time of 56.94 seconds to beat the previous record of 57.24 seconds, which was set by Kelsi Worrell of the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Mac Neil’s personal best in the women’s 100 metre butterfly came at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, when she had a time of 55.59 seconds in winning gold.
In the women’s 100 metre butterfly, Mac Neil reached the podium by 2.27 seconds over Valentina Becerra of Colombia, who had a fourth place time of 59.21 seconds. Kelly Pash of the United States won the silver medal with 57.85 seconds. Olivia Bray of the United States won the bronze medal with 58.36 seconds.
Team Canada won four more gold medals on Sunday. They came in swimming, skateboarding, taekwondo and diving.
Canada won their other gold medal in swimming in the women’s 200 metre freestyle, as Marie-Sophie Harvey of Laval, Quebec placed first. Harvey had a winning time of 1:58.08. She reached the podium by 0.59 seconds over Stephanie Balduccini of Brazil, who had a fourth place time of 1:58.67. Maria Da Silva Costa of Brazil won the silver medal with a time of 1:58.12. Camille Spink of the United States won the bronze medal with a time of 1:58.61.
In the women’s skateboarding park event, Fay De Fazio Ebert of Toronto, Ontario won the gold medal with 84.66 points. At age 13, she became the first skateboarding gold medalist in the history of the Pan American Games. Raicca Ventura De Oliveira of Brazil won the silver medal with a score of 82.54 points. Bryce Wettstein of the United States won the bronze medal with a score of 79.95 points. Ebert reached the podium by 9.12 points as Brigitte Alondra Morales Del Aguila of Peru finished in fourth place with a score of 75.54 points.
In taekwondo, Skylar Park of Winnipeg, Manitoba won the gold medal in the women’s 57 kilogram taekwondo. Park beat Caitlyn Cox of the United States 2-0 in the quarterfinals, Carolena Jean Carstens Salceda of Panama 2-1 in the semifinals, and silver medalist Maria Clara Lima Pacheco of Brazil 2-1 in the gold medal match. Cox and Carstens Salceda each won the bronze medal.
In diving, Pamela Ware of Greenfield Park, Quebec won the gold medal in the women’s one metre springboard diving. Mia Vallee of Beaconsfield, Quebec won the silver medal for Canada in a 1-2 Canadian finish, and Hailey Hernandez of the United States won the bronze medal.
The Canadian silver medalists on Sunday were Canadian Olympic gold medalist Maude Charron of Sainte-Luce, Quebec (women’s 59 kilogram weightlifting), Molly Simpson of Red Deer, Alberta (women’s BMX cycling), and Rylan Wiens of Calgary, Alberta and Nathan Zsombor-Murray of Montreal, Quebec (men’s 10 metre synchronized platform diving). The Canadian bronze medalists on Sunday came from the women’s individual gymnastics all-around, the mixed 4×100 metre freestyle swimming relay, and Hugh McNeil of Langley, British Columbia in the men’s 200 metre backstroke. Charron won her gold medal in the women’s 64 kilogram division at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
After two days, Canada now has nine gold medals, six silver medals, and six bronze medals for 21 medals overall. The United States leads the overall medal count with 46 medals.
