SANTIAGO – A remarkably bold solo run in the men's 10,000 brought gold for Isai Rodriguez in 28:17.84, with Sam Chelanga completing the 1-2 U.S. sweep with a silver in 29:01.21. It was the first American gold in the event since Bruce Bickford in 1987 and the first 1-2 finish ever by U.S. runners. Those two medals highlighted a five-medal fifth day for Team USATF at the 19th Pan American Games at National Stadium. The U.S. leads the overall medal table with 19, one ahead of Brazil. "I am grateful to be here because not many people get this opportunity," Rodriguez said. "I'm from a very small town (Ringwood, Oklahoma), and I wanted to do my best. My family came from Mexico and I was born in Oklahoma, so to be in a country where they speak Spanish it was familiar for me. I didn't know what the meet record was but they were saying I was on pace during the race so I just wanted to keep it at that rhythm." Rodriguez and Chelanga went straight to the lead from the gun, and after three laps Rodriguez turned up the tempo and gapped the field by more than 20 meters to pass the mile mark in 4:22. Rodriguez had a five second lead at 2K, with Chelanga dropping back into the chase pack in third. Stretching his lead to 12 seconds at the two mile mark, Rodriguez was almost 100 meters up on the nearest challenger. Just past the halfway mark, Chelanga had moved back into second and was 19 seconds adrift of Rodriguez, but by 6K that margin was back to more than 20 seconds as Chelanga continued to ease away from the rest of the field in second. Rodriguez hit 8K in 22:41.16 with a 33-second lead on Chelanga, and was starting to lap runners. Over the final 2K, Rodriguez never lost focus as he raced on to his first international title. Chelanga, who was ninth in the Chicago Marathon a month ago, said, "The crowd was awesome and I appreciated it because they made it special. I was going for the win, but I am a marathoner so it was tough. I wanted to be smart and not die in the second half of the race and miss a medal." Measurement issues required a restart of the men's shot put, but when order was reestablished competition was top class. Jordan Geist earned bronze with a best of 20.53/67-4.25, one place ahead of Roger Steen, who threw 20.51/67-3.5. Brazil's Darlan Romani, the 2022 world indoor champion, used a fifth-round 21.36/70-1 to nab gold ahead of Mexico's Uziel Muñoz, who took silver at 21.15/69-4.75. "Everyone in the competition is probably in the same boat," Geist said. "We are all training for the 2024 Olympics because that's the bigger goal. I am no exception, but I tapered a little bit this week. Next week I will be right back at it, training hard. I'm getting married in December." Another bronze came in the women's javelin, where Toyota USATF Championships gold medalist Maddie Harris uncorked a 60.06/197-0 in round two, her second farthest throw ever. Harris, who was fourth in the NCAA Championships for Nebraska, was joined on the podium by Colombia's Flor Ruiz, who took gold, and NCAA champion Rhema Otabor of the Bahamas, who earned silver. Rebekah Wales was eighth at 54.31/178-2. "It's exciting to get a medal in my first international meet," Harris said. "I have had a whole bunch of 'firsts' this season. It's a little weird throwing in November in a meet. I was listening to Christmas music the other day. You're not really in track season when you're in Christmas mode." Emily Mackay led the women's 1500 at the bell, passing 1100 at 3:11.13, but she was passed in the closing stages by 5000 champion Joselyn Brea of Venezuela and Dailys Cooper of Cuba, settling for bronze in 4:12.02 as Brea won by .06 seconds in 4:11.80. Mackay said, "I really wanted to medal. I just started to train a month ago for next year, so I didn't really have a kick in me at the end. I didn't really see the other women coming up behind me at the finish. I was strong the first couple laps, but kind of fizzled." The men's triple jump is an event often dominated by Cuban athletes, and this year was no different as Lazaro Martinez took gold and Cristian Napoles earned bronze. Chris Benard was one place off the podium, finishing fourth with a best of 16.48/54-1, and Chris Carter was seventh at 15.67/51-5. After advancing to the final of the men's 400 hurdles as the last time qualifier, James Smith drew lane two in the final and was chasing the field through the first five barriers. Moving up steadily, Smith was in medal contention coming off the final bend, but couldn't match the closing speed of the men to his outside and placed fifth in 50.02. Cuba won another men's field gold in the high jump as Luis Zayas sailed over 2.27/7-5.25 on his final attempt. Dontavious Hill went over 2.21/7-3 to place sixth, and Eli Kosiba was 11th at 2.15/7-0.5. Both U.S. runners advanced in the women's 800, with Brenna Detra grabbing an automatic berth with her third-place 2:06.77 in the second semi. Brooke Feldmeier was fourth in the first semifinal in 2:06.37, earning a time qualifier spot in the final. In the men's 800 semis, neither American athlete advanced. Abe Alvarado was third in section one at 1:47.72, while Derek Holdsworth was sixth in the third section in 1:48.41 TEAM USATF MEDALS (19) Gold (5) Kasey Knevelbaard, men's 5000 (14:47.69) DeAnna Price, women's hammer (72.34/237-4) Bridget Williams, women's pole vault (4.60/15-1) Erin Marsh, women's heptathlon (5,882 points) Isai Rodriguez, men's 10,000 (28:17.84) Silver (3) De'Vion Wilson, men's 110 hurdles (13.78) Taylor Werner, women's 5000 (16:06.48) Sam Chelanga, men's 10,000 (29:01.21) Bronze (11) Ednah Kurgat, women's 10,000 (33:16.61) Tiffany Flynn, women's long jump (6.40/21-0) Mixed 4x400 relay (Demarius Smith, Honour Finley, Richard Johnson, Jada Griffin) 3:19.41 Ryan Talbot, men's decathlon (7,742 points) Alaysha Johnson, women's 100 hurdles (13.19) Casey Comber, men's 1500 (3:39.90) Adelaide Aquilla, women's shot put (17.77/58-3.75) Jordan Gray, women's heptathlon (5,494 points) Jordan Geist, men's shot put (20.53/67-4.25) Maddie Harris, women's javelin (60.06/197-0) Emily Mckay, women's 1500 (4:12.02) Fans can watch at panamsportschannel.org and follow results here.
SANTIAGO – A remarkably bold solo run in the men's 10,000 brought gold for Isai Rodriguez in 28:17.84, with Sam Chelanga completing the 1-2 U.S. sweep with a silver in 29:01.21. It was the first American gold in the event since Bruce Bickford in 1987 and the first 1-2 finish ever by U.S. runners.
Those two medals highlighted a five-medal fifth day for Team USATF at the 19th Pan American Games at National Stadium. The U.S. leads the overall medal table with 19, one ahead of Brazil.
"I am grateful to be here because not many people get this opportunity," Rodriguez said. "I'm from a very small town (Ringwood, Oklahoma), and I wanted to do my best. My family came from Mexico and I was born in Oklahoma, so to be in a country where they speak Spanish it was familiar for me. I didn't know what the meet record was but they were saying I was on pace during the race so I just wanted to keep it at that rhythm."
Rodriguez and Chelanga went straight to the lead from the gun, and after three laps Rodriguez turned up the tempo and gapped the field by more than 20 meters to pass the mile mark in 4:22. Rodriguez had a five second lead at 2K, with Chelanga dropping back into the chase pack in third. Stretching his lead to 12 seconds at the two mile mark, Rodriguez was almost 100 meters up on the nearest challenger.
Just past the halfway mark, Chelanga had moved back into second and was 19 seconds adrift of Rodriguez, but by 6K that margin was back to more than 20 seconds as Chelanga continued to ease away from the rest of the field in second. Rodriguez hit 8K in 22:41.16 with a 33-second lead on Chelanga, and was starting to lap runners. Over the final 2K, Rodriguez never lost focus as he raced on to his first international title.
Chelanga, who was ninth in the Chicago Marathon a month ago, said, "The crowd was awesome and I appreciated it because they made it special. I was going for the win, but I am a marathoner so it was tough. I wanted to be smart and not die in the second half of the race and miss a medal."
Measurement issues required a restart of the men's shot put, but when order was reestablished competition was top class. Jordan Geist earned bronze with a best of 20.53/67-4.25, one place ahead of Roger Steen, who threw 20.51/67-3.5. Brazil's Darlan Romani, the 2022 world indoor champion, used a fifth-round 21.36/70-1 to nab gold ahead of Mexico's Uziel Muñoz, who took silver at 21.15/69-4.75.
"Everyone in the competition is probably in the same boat," Geist said. "We are all training for the 2024 Olympics because that's the bigger goal. I am no exception, but I tapered a little bit this week. Next week I will be right back at it, training hard. I'm getting married in December."
Another bronze came in the women's javelin, where Toyota USATF Championships gold medalist Maddie Harris uncorked a 60.06/197-0 in round two, her second farthest throw ever. Harris, who was fourth in the NCAA Championships for Nebraska, was joined on the podium by Colombia's Flor Ruiz, who took gold, and NCAA champion Rhema Otabor of the Bahamas, who earned silver. Rebekah Wales was eighth at 54.31/178-2.
"It's exciting to get a medal in my first international meet," Harris said. "I have had a whole bunch of 'firsts' this season. It's a little weird throwing in November in a meet. I was listening to Christmas music the other day. You're not really in track season when you're in Christmas mode."
Emily Mackay led the women's 1500 at the bell, passing 1100 at 3:11.13, but she was passed in the closing stages by 5000 champion Joselyn Brea of Venezuela and Dailys Cooper of Cuba, settling for bronze in 4:12.02 as Brea won by .06 seconds in 4:11.80. Mackay said, "I really wanted to medal. I just started to train a month ago for next year, so I didn't really have a kick in me at the end. I didn't really see the other women coming up behind me at the finish. I was strong the first couple laps, but kind of fizzled."
The men's triple jump is an event often dominated by Cuban athletes, and this year was no different as Lazaro Martinez took gold and Cristian Napoles earned bronze. Chris Benard was one place off the podium, finishing fourth with a best of 16.48/54-1, and Chris Carter was seventh at 15.67/51-5.
After advancing to the final of the men's 400 hurdles as the last time qualifier, James Smith drew lane two in the final and was chasing the field through the first five barriers. Moving up steadily, Smith was in medal contention coming off the final bend, but couldn't match the closing speed of the men to his outside and placed fifth in 50.02.
Cuba won another men's field gold in the high jump as Luis Zayas sailed over 2.27/7-5.25 on his final attempt. Dontavious Hill went over 2.21/7-3 to place sixth, and Eli Kosiba was 11th at 2.15/7-0.5.
Both U.S. runners advanced in the women's 800, with Brenna Detra grabbing an automatic berth with her third-place 2:06.77 in the second semi. Brooke Feldmeier was fourth in the first semifinal in 2:06.37, earning a time qualifier spot in the final. In the men's 800 semis, neither American athlete advanced. Abe Alvarado was third in section one at 1:47.72, while Derek Holdsworth was sixth in the third section in 1:48.41
TEAM USATF MEDALS (19)
Gold (5)
Kasey Knevelbaard, men's 5000 (14:47.69)
DeAnna Price, women's hammer (72.34/237-4)
Bridget Williams, women's pole vault (4.60/15-1)
Erin Marsh, women's heptathlon (5,882 points)
Isai Rodriguez, men's 10,000 (28:17.84)
Silver (3)
De'Vion Wilson, men's 110 hurdles (13.78)
Taylor Werner, women's 5000 (16:06.48)
Sam Chelanga, men's 10,000 (29:01.21)
Bronze (11)
Ednah Kurgat, women's 10,000 (33:16.61)
Tiffany Flynn, women's long jump (6.40/21-0)
Mixed 4x400 relay (Demarius Smith, Honour Finley, Richard Johnson, Jada Griffin) 3:19.41
Ryan Talbot, men's decathlon (7,742 points)
Alaysha Johnson, women's 100 hurdles (13.19)
Casey Comber, men's 1500 (3:39.90)
Adelaide Aquilla, women's shot put (17.77/58-3.75)
Jordan Gray, women's heptathlon (5,494 points)
Jordan Geist, men's shot put (20.53/67-4.25)
Maddie Harris, women's javelin (60.06/197-0)
Emily Mckay, women's 1500 (4:12.02)
Fans can watch at panamsportschannel.org and follow results here.