(Santiago Chile) Maggie Mac Neil added Pan American Games gold to her Olympic gold in the 100m butterfly on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Ontario native set a Games record with a time of 56.94 seconds. She led at the turn and beat silver medalist Kelly Pash of the United States by just under a second.
Mac Neil said she was nervous before the race, which represented perhaps the only opportunity for a Pan American gold medal in her illustrious career.
“It’s one of the few titles I didn’t already have, so I definitely felt the pressure to get it, but I’m really happy,” Mac Neil said. I haven’t managed [a time] under 57 seconds this year, so I want to improve. I’m happy I did it. »
Mac Neil won three medals at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago with gold in the 100m butterfly, but also a silver and a bronze in the relays.
Her Quebec teammate Marie-Sophie Harvey won the 200m freestyle event. The 24-year-old needed 1:58.08 to cover the distance, ahead of Brazilian Marie Silva Da Costa (1:58.12).
Mac Neil and Harvey thus obtained their second gold medal in as many days in Santiago after participating in the Canadian effort in the freestyle relay on Saturday.
They also won bronze in the mixed relay with Finlay Knox and Javier Acevedo.
Quebec Olympic champion Maude Charron won silver in weightlifting, at 59 kg
Fay De Fazio Ebert, the youngest member of the Canadian delegation at 13, became the first female skateboarding champion at the Pan American Games.
“It’s crazy,” she exclaimed. I keep getting text messages from friends and family saying, “I’m so proud of you, you did a great job.” It’s really unbelievable. »
Canada now has eight gold medals, five silver and six bronze, for a total of 19. Only the United States (19) and Mexico (10) have more gold medals.
