August 30, 2018 (Aguascalientes, Mexico) – Team Canada opened the 2018 Pan American Track Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on Aug. 29 with a bronze medal on the first day of competition. In the women’s Team Sprint, Amelia Walsh, from Ayr, ON and Lauriane Genest, from Levis, QC finished with a time of 33.515 seconds in the two-lap race, to beat Cuba for the bronze medal. The duo qualified third with Cuba fourth.

“It’s really good,” said Genest, “At Commonwealth Games we had a good ride but we were disqualified. So getting a good ride in this morning [in qualifying] was really important. Then to be on the podium, I’m really happy about that and it’s great for my confidence. We’re already faster than at Commonwealths so this is a great sign that we’re progressing well.” This is Walsh and Genest’s first medal and Team Canada’s first medal of these championships.

In other competition, both the Canadian women’s and men’s Team Pursuit squads qualified for Thursday’s bronze medal final by finishing third and fourth, respectively, in their opening heats.  In the women’s Scratch Race, Devaney Collier of Edmonton, Alberta, finished fourth, despite crashing in the final sprint.

The Pan Am Track Championships are one of the most important annual events for Canada to collect nation ranking points that will be used to determine Olympic quotas for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Results

Women’s Team Sprint

Qualifications

1. Mexico 30.148
Daniela Gaxiola
Jessica Saladar

2. USA 33.363
Madalyn Godby
Mandy Marquardt

3. Canada 33.557
Amelia Walsh
Lauriane Genest

4. Cuba 34.115
Lizandra Guerra
Mirtha Garcia

5. Argentina 34.775
Marianna Diaz
Natalia Vera

6. Chile 36.238
Daniela Coulef
Renata Urritia

7. Ecuador 37.834
Genesis Hedy Lozano
Dayana Lizbeth Agular

Final

1. Mexico
Daniela Gaxiola
Yuli Paola Verdugo

2. USA
Madalyn Godby
Mandy Marquardt

3. Canada
Amelia Walsh
Lauriane Genest

Women’s Scratch Race

1. Jennifer Valente (USA)
2. Marlies Mejias (Cuba)
3. Mayra del Rocio Rocha (Mexico)
4. Devaney Collier (Canada)
5. Amber Joseph (Barbados)
6. Angie Gonzalez (Venezuela)
7. Wellyda Dos Santos (Brazil)
8. Alexi Costa (Trinidad & Tobago)
9. Cristina Greve (Argentina)
10. Dayana Lisbeth Aguilar (Ecuador)
11. Luddy Fernandez (Peru)
12. Jannie Milena Salcedo (Colombia)
DNF Francesca Cortes (Chile)

Qualifications

1. USA 4:23.843
Jennifer Valente
Cristina Birch
Kimberly Geist
Kelly Catlin

2. Mexico 4:33.195
Lizbeth Yarely Salazar
Ana Teresa Casas
Jessica Bonilla
Brenda Santoyo

3. Canada 4:34.083
Maggie Coles-Lyster
Laurie Jussaume
Devanay Collier
Erin Attwell

4. Chile 4:37.916
Anany Munoz
Constanza Paredes
Paula Villalon
Scarlet Cortes

5. Ecuador 4:50.791
Miryam Maritza Nunez
Ieslye Alexandr Ojeda
Lizbath Leonor Pancah
Dayana Lizbeth Aguilar

Men’s Team Pursuit