Charles Philibert-Thiboutot won an award in the men’s 5,000 meters final on Halloween night. His time of 14:48.02 earned him silver – Canada’s first medal in track and field at these Pan American Games.
There was drama at the finish line, as Mexican Fernando Daniel Martinez edged American Kasey Knevelbaard across the line to finish first by a hundredth of a second. This was not to be, as Fernandez was disqualified, which propelled Knevelbaard to the gold medal and propelled Philibert-Thiboutot to silver.
The 32-year-old Quebecer won his second medal at the Pan American Games, improving his bronze medal at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, here in Chile.
“I feel pretty good about it. It was a very strategic race. Today the plan was not to go fast, but to be in the top three and fight for my position there. Then, on the last lap, I made sure I was in position to go for gold – which I thought I did well. “I just missed it a little bit in those last 100 meters to get the gold,” said Philibert-Thiboutot. “I place a lot of value on the Pan American Games. I think it’s an incredible opportunity – the biggest multi-sport Games after the Olympics. It was important for me to come back and perform well.
Move on
Earlier in the evening, Keira Christie-Galloway booked her place in the women’s 100 meter hurdles final, finishing 3rd.rd in his semi-final with a time of 13.36 seconds.
“I was really excited and a little eager to get my legs moving. I walked into the box and was like, “I know how to do this.” I’ve already done it. “I was just confident going into the races. I’ve been racing since I was 15, so I stayed relaxed,” Christie-Galloway said.
Follow Team Canada in Chile
Meet the team representing the Maple Leaf in Chile this week and watch extensive live coverage of the 2023 Pan American Games on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
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