The Pan American Games’ host city mayor wants to leave talk about a future Olympic bid until after the Pan American Games.
"I guess everything is on the table until you take things off the table," Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters on July 22 after meeting with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. "There's a whole variety of international events that we're now in a position to host and the Olympics is one of those. The time to make any decision with respect to that is after these [Games] are successfully concluded."
Toronto made unsuccessful bids for the 1996 and 2008 Games, but decided not to bid for the 2024 Games earlier this year.
Meanwhile, both politicians said that some of the Games’ high occupancy vehicle lanes could eventually be transformed into toll lanes after the Games. The governing Liberals would use the revenue to help fund a 10-year, $130 billion transit and roads plan.
Track & Field Underway
Canada won four gold medals on the first day of athletics at York University on July 21.
"It's great being able to perform in front of your home crowd, to have fans, your family and friends cheering you on is something special," said men’s pole vault champion Shawnacy Barber, whose 5.4m jump set a new Pan Am Games record.
Liz Gleadle (women’s javelin), Matt Hughes (3,000 m steeplechase) and Mohammed Ahmed (10,000 m) were the other victorious Canadians.
Barbara Pierre of the U.S. raced to the 100 m semifinals with a 10.92 Pan Am Games record time. Jamaica’s O’Dayne Richards claimed a new Pan Am Games shot put record with 21.69 m. Richards won gold in the event at last summer’s Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, Ontario Sports Solutions — a joint venture of Kenaidan Contracting and Bouygues Building Canada — built the Hamilton soccer stadium, Milton velodrome and York University stadium. The Toronto Star reported that the York stadium went over its $45 million budget and the contractors have claims owing.
Elsewhere, Mexico upended Brazil in men’s beach volleyball, while Argentina won its first gold in the sport over Cuba. The U.S. regained the women’s team table tennis championship after only achieving bronze in Guadalajara 2011, while Brazil’s men’s team won its third.
The men’s basketball tournament began, with U.S. beating Venezuela 85-62 and Canada downing Dominican Republic 105-88 in the evening matches. Brady Heslip led Canada with 24 points. The 25-year-old, who plays professionally in Bosnia Herzegovina, is the nephew of coach Jay Triano.
Driving Towards Guinness
TO2015 vehicle sponsor General Motors hopes by July 24 to set a Guinness World Record for most people generating electricity in a week.
The Chevrolet Power of Play exhibit at CIBC Pan Am Park, on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, includes a Chevrolet Volt-powered slot car race track with human-powered bicycles powering the slot cars.
Chevrolet began the promotion on July 17 at 11:30 a.m. and plans to finish it on July 24 at 11:29 a.m.
GM’s TO2015 fleet includes 1,000 sedans, vans, sport utility vehicles and trucks.
Written by Bob Mackinin Toronto
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