Sprint champs to be crowned, decathlon begins on Wednesday
The second day of action at the Pan Am track will have most talking about Andre De Grasse and the men’s 100-metre races in the evening.
Not to be ignored, there are seven more medal events – including the women’s 100m – plus the start of men’s decathlon, that will be of interest to Canadians.
Decathlon
Commonwealth Games Decathlon gold medallist Damian Warner takes flight during the long jump.
After missing out on the podium at the prestigious Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis due to mistakes, Damian Warner will be hungry to run up the score at home ahead of the World Championships in the two-day, 10-discipline event.
The 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m are on for first day. Such is Warner’s quality, without Olympic Champion Ashton Eaton competing in the decathlon, the Canadian is peerless in North America.
Sprints
Khamica Bingham (second from left) sets up at the blocks for 100m quarterfinals of the Pan Am Games on July 21, 2015.
De Grasse will provide fans at home a chance to match the headlines they’ve been reading since the 20-year old won the NCAA 100m/200m double in a span of 45 minutes this spring. His times – though wind-aided, slightly over the allowable 2.0 metres/second – were 9.75 and 19.58 seconds respectively in those races.
On the women’s side, Khamica Bingham is the top Canadian out for a breakthrough. Kelly Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago is a gold medal threat, as is new Pan Am Games 100m women’s record holder from the heats, Barbara Pierre of the United States.
The semifinals begin at 6:25 p.m. ET with the women running first and their final taking place at 8:30. The men’s final will be at 8:50.
Middle Distance
Melissa Bishop following her 800m semifinal at the Pan Am Games on July 21, 2015.
The women’s 800m final will feature two Canadians who comfortably (note: the 800m is anything but ‘comfortable’) made it to the final on Tuesday. Melissa Bishop and Jessica Smith could both be in medal contention. Rose Mary Almanza (Cuba) and Alysia Montano (USA) should be considered favourites for gold. Phoebe Wright of USA makes it five women in the field of eight to run the event under two minutes.
Hurdles
Sarah Wells (centre) and Shamier Little (right) in the 400m hurdles semifinals at Pan Am Games on July 21, 2015.
Women’s 400m hurdles will give Canada’s Sarah Wells a chance to get on the podium after battling through injuries in recent months. World Junior Champion Shamier Little of the United States will be the woman to beat.
Field events
After scoring medals in four field events on the first day at the stadium, Canadians will need to dig deep to get something on Wednesday against competitors in three contests. Featuring Canadians, the women’s high jump is the lone medal event in the morning. The evening sees women’s shot put and men’s hammer throw.
No Canadian made it to the men’s long jump final, where U.S. dominance by Jeffery Henderson and Marquise Goodwin is expected.
