Karate Last Sport to Start at Pan Ams

(ATR) The last of 36 sports on the Pan Am Games program gets underway Thursday in Toronto.

The Karate competition will give out its first medals Thursday evening as athletes compete in the lightweight divisions. Karate is not currently a sport on the Olympic program so for athletes in the Americas this is the highest level of competition for this event. Karate aims to join the Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020.

The track and field competition continues on Thursday with athletes competing for gold in the 400 meter race as well as the men’s decathlon, among others. On Wednesday evening the 100 meter finals were held and Andre de Grasse of Canada took home the gold on the men’s side while Sherone Simpson of Jamaica won on the women’s.

The first medals of the bowling doubles tournaments will be awarded Thursday. Athletes in racquetball and wakeboard and waterski will also compete for their first medals of the Pan Ams. Wakeboard and waterski concludes competition Thursday.

Equestrian show jumping will also give out its first medal of the Pan Ams Thursday as athletes in the jumping team event seek gold in the afternoon.

Only four days remain of Pan Am competition. As the games draw to a close, the United States are solidifying their place atop the medal board, breaking the 200 mark on Wednesday. The U.S. leads all countries with 201 medals, Canada is in second with 173 and Brazil is in third with 114.

The U.S. also leads the gold medal count with 76. Canada is a close second with 64 while Brazil trails by a large margin with 32.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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