Charles Philibert-Thiboutot on Thursday dived across the finish line to win the men’s 1,500m race and give Canada their first track and field gold medal at this year’s Pan American Games in Chile.
Philibert-Thiboutot, 32, cried in disbelief when he saw he had secured the win in 3 minutes, 39.74 seconds, 0.02 seconds ahead of fellow Canadian Robert Heppenstall, who earned the silver medal.
American Casey Comber won the bronze medal in a cold and damp National Stadium in Santiago.
Photo: AP
Philibert-Thiboutot said he had “never before” dived across the finish line.
“I saw that Rob was leading, I saw we could go one-two and then I remembered that I really wanted to win gold,” he said.
Earlier this week, Philibert-Thiboutot won silver in the men’s 5,000m race.
Photo: AP
Heppenstall, 26, did not sound too down about Thursday’s result.
The two Canadians hugged and held the country’s flag together in front of a raucous crowd.
“I am finishing 2023 in a high note, one of the best my career, I couldn’t ask for a better finish,” Heppenstall said.
Photo: AP
Shortly after the 1,500m race, shot putter Sarah Mitton gave Canada their second track and field gold medal at the Pan American Games, her winning effort of 19.19m more than 1m better than Rosa Ramirez of the Dominican Republic, who won silver.
The two golds gave Canada 37 gold medals with two more days of competition, which is already more than the nation had four years ago in Lima.
Philibert-Thiboutot had a series of injuries that stopped him from running at the Tokyo Olympics, but he has qualified for the Paris Olympics next year.
He said the victory at the Pan American Games gave him some reassurance that he can fight.
“If I don’t have to dive there, even better,” he jokingly said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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