Four Medals at Pan Am Games for Team Canada Rowers

The rowing events at the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games wrapped up yesterday with the Canadian rowing team ending their regatta with a total of four medals.

The team’s first medals came on the second day of the regatta on Monday, when the women’s pair of Olivia Murray and Abby Dent earned the silver medal, finishing behind the United States who took the gold. Later that day, the women’s quad (Shaye de Paiva, Alizée Brien, Parker Illingworth and Kendra Hartley) rode the momentum of a good start in the race to a bronze medal.

The highlight of the regatta came on Tuesday when the women’s eight made history, winning gold in the first-ever contested women’s coxed eight at a Pan Am Games. The crew dominated from start to finish, crossing the line four seconds ahead of the United States and Chile in a time of 6:10.70. The Canadian rowing team ended their Pan Am regatta on a high note on Wednesday with the women’s double of Brien and de Paiva adding another bronze medal to bring the total for Canada at the event to four. It was the third medal of the Games each for Brien and de Paiva, who were also a part of the gold medal-winning eight.

A total of 16 rowers represented Canada at the Pan Am Games in ten total boats. Eight of the boats qualified for the A Final, with the other two boats placing first in the B Final. Canada finished tied for fifth in the medal standings for rowing with Cuba, behind the United States (10), Chile (10), Mexico (6) and Uruguay (5). As of this writing, Team Canada sits second in the overall medal standings at the Pan Am Games with 77 total medals (28 gold, 23 silver, 26 bronze), behind the United States with 135.

Santiago 2023 Pan American Games – Canadian Rowing Team Results:

Women’s Eight (W8+) – Gold
Abby Dent (University of Michigan / Kenora Rowing Club | Kenora, Ontario)
Olivia McMurray (Calgary Rowing Club | Airdrie, Alberta)
Kendra Hartley (Calgary Rowing Club | Calgary, Alberta)
Alizée Brien (Montreal Rowing Club | Val-David, Quebec)
Shaye de Paiva (Queens University / Calgary Rowing Club | Calgary, Alberta)
Parker Illingworth (University of Texas | Seattle, Washington, USA)
Abby Speirs (University of Victoria Rowing Club | Victoria, British Columbia)
Leia Till (University of Virginia / Brockville Rowing Club | Potomac, Maryland, USA)
Kristen Kit (cox) (University of British Columbia / St. Catharines Rowing Club | St. Catharines, Ontario)

Women’s Pair (W2-) – Silver
Abby Dent (University of Michigan / Kenora Rowing Club | Kenora, Ontario)
Olivia McMurray (Calgary Rowing Club | Airdrie, Alberta)

Women’s Double (W2x) – Bronze
Alizée Brien (Montreal Rowing Club | Val-David, Quebec)
Shaye de Paiva (Queens University / Calgary Rowing Club | Calgary, Alberta)

Women’s Quad (W4x) – Bronze
Kendra Hartley (Calgary Rowing Club | Calgary, Alberta)
Alizée Brien (Montreal Rowing Club | Val-David, Quebec)
Shaye de Paiva (Queens University / Calgary Rowing Club | Calgary, Alberta)
Parker Illingworth (University of Texas | Seattle, Washington, USA)

Mixed Eight (Mix8+) – 4th in A Final
Abby Speirs (University of Victoria Rowing Club | Victoria, British Columbia)
Emerson Crick (University of British Columbia | Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Stephen Harris (Brock University / Guelph Rowing Club | Guelph, Ontario)
Connor Attridge (University of Victoria Rowing Club | Burnaby, British Columbia)
Quinn Storey (University of British Columbia | Burnaby, British Columbia)
Olivia McMurray (Calgary Rowing Club | Airdrie, Alberta)
Abby Dent (University of Michigan / Kenora Rowing Club | Kenora, Ontario)
Leia Till (University of Virginia / Brockville Rowing Club | Potomac, Maryland, USA)
Kristen Kit (cox) (University of British Columbia / St. Catharines Rowing Club | St. Catharines, Ontario)

Women’s Four (W4-) – 4th in A Final
Kendra Hartley (Calgary Rowing Club | Calgary, Alberta)
Parker Illingworth (University of Texas | Seattle, Washington, USA)
Abby Speirs (University of Victoria Rowing Club | Victoria, British Columbia)
Leia Till (University of Virginia / Brockville Rowing Club | Potomac, Maryland, USA)

Men’s Single (M1x) – 5th in A Final
Shane Willis (Peterborough Rowing Club / BC NextGen Performance Centre | Dundas, Ontario)

Lightweight Men’s Double (LM2x) – 5th in A Final
Emerson Crick (University of British Columbia | Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Stephen Harris (Brock University / Guelph Rowing Club | Guelph, Ontario)

Men’s Pair (M2-) – 1st in B Final (7th Overall)
Connor Attridge (University of Victoria Rowing Club | Burnaby, British Columbia)
Quinn Storey (University of British Columbia | Burnaby, British Columbia)

Men’s Double (M2x) – 1st in B Final (7th Overall)
Michael Ciepiela (Brock University Rowing Club | Brampton, Ontario)
Rui Xu (University of Toronto Rowing Club | Hamilton, Ontario)

With files from RCA. Picture is property of RCA.