Toronto 2015: Day three preview

A whopping 76 gold medals will be awarded across six sports on Monday (10 August), the third day of action at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games. The highlight could be a gold for “armless archer” Matt Stutzman in one of four archery medal events.

Qualification games will also continue in eight sports.

Here’s what to watch on Monday.

Archery

Four golds will be contested at the Varsity Stadium with USA looking to win eight medals, including potentially three golds.

“Armless archer” Matt Stutzman will go for gold against Andre Shelby in an all-US compound men’s open final.

US and Brazilian archers will meet in the gold medal match in the recurve men's and women’s open finals. Eric Bennett will meet Luciano Rezende and Natalie Wells will face Thais Silva Carvalho. Hosts Canada will be hoping Karen Van Nest can land gold in the compound women's open against Brazil's Karla Jane Gogel.

Athletics

Hosts Canada will be optimistic of landing at least three of the 21 gold medals up for grabs on the first day of athletics at the CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Athletics Stadium with Brent Lakatos, Josh Cassidy and Jason Dunkerly all strong medal contenders.

In other events watch out for Brazil’s teenage sprint sensation Petrucio Ferreira in the 100m T47 and his teammates Mateus Evangelista Cardoso and Pedro Silva in the men’s long jump F37 and F38 classes.

The USA will also be hoping T54 racers Hannah McFadden and Erik Hightower win gold in their respective 800m and 100m races.

Jamaica’s Alphonso Cunningham, a Paralympic champion in 2004, is also one to watch in the men’s discus F51/52/53/57.

Cycling

Three gold medals are up for grabs at the sold-out Milton Velodrome.

The USA’s world number seven Jennifer Schuble, a London 2012 silver medallist, will start as favourite in the women’s 5,000m time trial C1-5 as will Colombia’s Edwin Fabian Matiz Ruiz in the men’s 1km time trial C1-5. The mixed individual pursuit B event is wide open.

Powerlifting

Mexican athletes are expected to dominate the final two medal events in women’s powerlifting at the Mississauga Sport Centre on Monday.

The women’s up to 55kg, 61, and 67kg event will combine three weight classes and the winner will be determined by a formula which takes into account weight lifted and the bodyweight of the athlete.

Two-time Paralympic champion Amalia Perez, who normally competes in the up to 61kg class, starts as the overwhelming favourite having lifted 127kg earlier this season, more than any of her rival competitors.

Her compatriot Perla Barcenas, the 2010 world champion, is also expected to win gold in the women’s up to 73kg, 79kg, 86kg and over 86kg class.

The men’s up to 80kg class should be a contest between Colombia’s Francisco Palomeque Palacios and Brazil’s Evanio Da Silva. Palomeque Palacios leads the American ranking this year with 192kg, 6kg more than his nearest rival Da Silva.

Table tennis

Fourteen classes in men’s and women’s table tennis singles will come to a climax on Monday. Brazil won four times as many golds as any other country in Guadalajara, Mexico, four years ago and are likely to win many medals.

Swimming

Canada’s double world champion Aurelie Rivard will be pushing to win two of the 19 swimming gold medal events on the third day of competition at the CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Aquatics Centre.

The 19-year-old will start as overwhelming favourite to win gold in the 50m freestyle S10, which she claimed the world title in last month in Great Britain. In the 100m butterfly S10 she will go up against teammate Samantha Ryan who, on paper, is slightly faster this season.

Arguably the most exciting race of the day will be the men’s 50m freestyle S10 which will see all three medallists from July’s World Championships in action. World champion Andre Brasil knows he will have to be at his best to hold-off teammate Phelipe Rodrigues and Canada’s Nathan Stein.

The trio will also lock horns in the men’s butterfly S10.