William Roussy of Canada returns to Pedro De Vinatea of Peru in the SL3 men's singles badminton event at Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile on Sunday, Nov.23, 2023. Roussy of Marie, Que., earned a silver medal in the event on the final day of the Parapan American Games. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Parapan American Games-Felipe Poga **MANDATORY CREDIT**
SANTIAGO, Chile – Canada hauled in five medals on the final day of the Parapan American Games on Sunday.
William Roussy of Marie, Que., captured silver in the para badminton SL3 men’s singles tournament.
The 20-year-old Roussy lost 11-21, 21-18, 21-15 in the final to defending champion Pedro de Vinatea of Peru. Gerson Jair Vargas Lostaunau, also of Peru, won bronze.
“˜’I was expecting we would have long exchanges, so I knew it was important to warm up really well,” said Roussy. “˜’Still, this result was a big step in my career. I hope at the next Games I can win the gold.”
Canada won two other medals in badminton on Sunday as Bernard Lapointe of St-Léonard, Que., and Vancouver’s Yuka Chokyu each took bronze.
Lapointe, 39, defeated José Chaves of Brazil 21-8,21-4 in 21 minutes to win the men’s WH2 bronze-medal match. Jaime Nicolás Aranguiz Urrutia of Chile beat Brazil’s Julio Cesar Godoy for gold.
“˜’I didn’t sleep all night, I wanted that medal so bad,” said Lapointe. “˜’I was in a great zone the whole game, I could feel I was on. I gave him no chances and the match went exactly as planned.”
Chokyu, 56, needed just 20 minutes to beat American Amy Burnett 21-5, 21-5 and place third in women’s wheelchair singles. Daniele Souza of Brazil defeated Jaquelin Karina Burgos Javier in the gold-medal match.
“˜’I’m proud to get the bronze medal,” said Chokyu. “˜’The level of the players, especially compared to 2019, is going up. Every country is working hard and we are going to have to keep up.”
Canada also won two medals on the road in para cycling.
Alex Hayward of Quispamsis, N.B., raced to silver in the men’s C1-3 for his fourth medal of the Games.
Hayward was two seconds short of gold-medal winner Alejandro Perea of Colombia with a time of one hour, 18 minutes and three seconds. Fellow Colombian Esneider Munoz Marin took bronze.
“I think being so new to cycling, the road aspect of it is the biggest learning curve,” said Hayward. “Given the situation and how it played out I’m pretty happy with how I finished.
“Alejandro’s been doing this for a long time, so he sprinted me at the end.”
Nathan Clement of West Vancouver, B.C., added a bronze in the mixed T1-2. American Dennis Dale Connors won gold and Juan Jose Betancourt of Colombia earned silver.
“It was a great measuring stick to see where I was at as a rider and as a cyclist,” said Clement. “There’s still so much room I need to grow and expand, but overall, seeing my power and feeling throughout the race and from the start of my cycling to where I am now, this was my strongest performance.”
The Canadians finished the Games with 52 medals – nine gold, 15 silver and 28 bronze. The 52 medals ranked sixth among all countries while the nine gold were eighth.
Brazil led all countries with 343 medals and 156 gold. The United States was second with 166 medals and 55 gold followed by Colombia, which earned 161 medals and 50 gold.
Boccia player Alison Levin was named Canada’s flag-bearer ahead of the closing ceremony on Sunday night.
Levine captured two gold medals to lead Canada’s boccia team, which won six total medals in Santiago.
“I never in a million years thought of this moment,” said Levine. “I’m shocked, everyone who has carried that flag has been selected for a reason, and to just feel like I was selected for a reason as well is so amazing. I’m truly honoured.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2023.
