Roundup: De Grasse Wins Silver – Warner bronze on Track at Rio Olympics

“I’m really happy with two medals, but my race today could have been better,” De Grasse said. “I couldn’t really tell what happened. I came off the bend and tried to do something, tried to go, but maybe I used up too much energy in the semifinal yesterday.”

Canada’s tied with South Korea for 10th in the overall medal standings with four gold, three silver and 11 bronze. The Canadians are targeting a top-12 finish when the 2016 Summer Games end Sunday.

De Grasse could add a third medal in the 4×100 relay final, where Canada is looking for redemption after a lane violation four years ago in London cost them a bronze medal, and left the runners in tears.

De Grasse wasn’t the only Canadian to claim hardware on the track as Damian Warner, of London, Ont., took bronze in the decathlon.

Warner finished the 10-discipline competition with 8,666 points and matched Dave Steen from the 1988 Seoul Games for the best-ever Canadian finish in decathlon.

Defending champion Ashton Eaton of the U.S. won gold with 8,893 points while France’s Kevin Mayer took silver with 8,834 points.

“I’m tired right now, but I’m very happy I was able to pull it out,” Warner said. “I had pretty strong goals coming into these Olympics, and I wanted to challenge for that gold spot, but there’s many ups and downs within a decathlon, and I’m proud of myself and the work that my coaches have put in.”

Canada reached its largest gold medal tally in 24 years earlier in the day after Erica Wiebe won the 75-kilogram wrestling crown. Canada won seven medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Wiebe, from Ottawa, was dominant in her match against Guzel Manyurova of Kazakhstan, winning 6-0, and bringing Canada its fourth gold in Rio.

“I didn’t think about who I was wrestling, I didn’t think about what they were,” she said. “I just thought about what I needed to do in that moment and I still don’t really believe it.”

Wiebe is Canada’s third-ever gold medallist in wrestling, following Daniel Igali at the 2000 Games in Sydney 2000 and Carol Huynh in Beijing in 2008.

Her win also keeps Canada’s streak in women’s wrestling alive, one that dates back to the 2004 Athens Olympics when the discipline made its debut.

Canadian diver Meaghan Benfeito capped off her Rio run in style after winning her second bronze and first individual medal.

The 27-year-old from Laval, Que., finished with an overall score of 389.20, behind Ren Qian and Si Yajie of China. She had contemplated retirement, but said she has decided to stick around.

“I’ve always said that if I became a double Olympic medallist, I would stop diving,” Benfeito said. “But I want to continue and my decision (to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Games) had already been made.”

Benfeito’s teammate Roseline Filion, 29, also from Laval, placed sixth with 367.95. The duo won bronze together in the 10-metre synchronized event, defending the medal they won at the 2012 London Games.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., made her move in the second round of women’s golf at the Olympics after five consecutive birdies to finish 7-under 64. Henderson shot up the leaderboard into a tie with Britain’s Charley Hull for third in the event, closing in on South Korea’s Inbee Park and American Stacy Lewis. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (69) is tied for 32nd at one under.

Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, B.C., made it safely through the wind and wrecks at the track to qualify for the semifinals of the men’s BMX.

In kayaking, Canadians Hugues Fournel and Ryan Cochrane were hoping for a better finish, but were proud just to have reached the Olympic final after learning less than three weeks ago they’d be going to Rio.

Fournel, from Quebec City, and Cochrane, from Halifax, finished eighth and last in the two-man 200-metre kayak final with a time on 33.76 seconds.

Fournel and Cochrane, who finished seventh at the 2012 Olympics in London, did not qualify for the Rio Games, but were informed on July 31 that a spot was open to replace a Russian pair who were suspended for doping.

Winnipeg-born Tyler Mislawchuk was the top Canadian in the men’s triathlon. The Oak Bluff, Man., native finished 15th in a time of 1:47:50, while Andrew Yorke of Caledon East, Ont., placed 42nd in 1:52:46.

On the track, Canadian distance runners were continuing their quest for a shot at the medal podium.

Canadian distance runner Melissa Bishop will compete for a medal after advancing to the final of the women’s 800 metres. The Eganville, Ont., native finished second in her semifinal heat with a time of one minute 59.05 seconds in the semifinal. Bishop was the frontrunner but Poland’s Joanna Jozwik poured it on to finish first in 1:58.93.

Nathan Brannen of Cambridge, Ont., advanced to the finals of the men’s 1,500, while Charles Philibert-Thiboutot of Quebec City failed to qualify.

In other preliminary events, the Canadian men’s and women’s 4×100-metre relay teams both qualified for their respective finals slated for Friday.

Bolade Ajomale of Richmond Hill, Ont., Toronto’s Aaron Brown, Calgary’s Akeem Haynes and Brendon Rodney of Brampton, Ont., finished third in their heat and fourth overall in a season’s best 37.89 seconds.

On the women’s side, Farah Jacques of Gatineau, Que., Toronto’s Crystal Emmanuel, Phylicia George of Markham, Ont., and Khamica Bingham of Brampton, Ont., qualified seventh in 42.70 seconds.

Alyxandria Treasure of Prince George, B.C., qualified for Saturday’s high jump final with a personal-best effort of 1.93 metres.

In men’s shot put, Tim Nedow of Brockville, Ont., finished 16th in qualifying and did not advance.

by The Canadian Press

Roundup: De Grasse Wins Silver – Warner bronze on Track at Rio Olympics

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