Zigzagging around buoys one minute and flying through the air the next, Regina Jaquess won two more gold medals in water skiing Sunday at the Pan American Games. The 27-year-old American, who had already won gold in the overall competition a day earlier, claimed titles in the slalom and jump events on Day 9 of the games. She also won bronze in the tricks. “I am happy that I got bronze, but at the same time you're itching for the gold and I wanted to get the sweep,” Jaquess said. “I looked at big picture when I should have just concentrated on single event.” The wins for Jaquess were part of another strong day for the United States, which has 57 gold medals and 156 overall. Brazil is second in the medals table with 26 gold and 68 overall. Besides the two for Jaquess, American teammates Jonathan Travers won the men's slalom and Freddy Krueger earned gold in men's jumps. In other sports, the United States won the softball gold, the equestrian riders won the team eventing title, Jake Herbert and Tervel Dlagnev won freestyle wrestling golds, and Sarah Haskins won the women's triathlon. “I thought I would rank lower, but I did it and I did it well,” Haskins said. “Mexico is fantastic.” Brazil also had golden day, winning five sailing titles, one in the women's marathon from Adriana da Silva and one in men's triathlon from Reinaldo Colucci. The women's handball team also won gold, beating Argentina 33-15. The men's football team wasn't as fortunate. They were eliminated from medal contention after losing to Costa Rica 3-1. In early events, a pair of Guatemalan walkers won the first two gold medals in athletics. Erick Barrondo won the men's 20km walk a short time after Jamy Franco earned gold in the women's race while setting a games record of 1 hour, 32 minutes, 38 seconds. The previous walk record of 1:34:19 was set by Graciela Mendoza of Mexico at the games in Winnipeg in 1999. Also in water skiing, Whitney McClintock of Canada won the women's figures and Javier Julio earned gold in the men's figures, while Jessica Phoenix of Canada won the individual eventing gold in equestrian. In softball, the US won the gold medal by beating Canada 11-1 in four innings. The Americans won all nine games in Guadalajara to claim their seventh straight title in the sport. Also, Sergio Alvarez won a weightlifting gold for Cuba, winning the men's 56-kilogram category, and Lely Burgos of Puerto Rico earned gold in the women's 48-kilogram class. In men's football, Argentina defeated Cuba 1-0 on Matias Laba's goal in the 79th minute, guaranteeing the Argentines a place in the semifinals.
