RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- What kayaker Angus Mortimer of Ottawa really wants is to be the next Adam van Koeverden, but he'd settle for a spot on Canada's team at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing.

Mortimer made a strong statement in support of that effort at the Pan Am Games on Friday, winning the men's K-1 1,000-metre race, then helping to power Canada's K-4 crew through a brilliant 200-metre surge to the finish in its 1,000-metre final to claim a silver medal.

Canadian paddlers added a pair of bronze medals as well: Benjamin Russell of Halifax finished third in the men's C-1 1,000 final and the women's K-4 crew of Jill D'Alessio of Middle Sackville, N.S., Kia Byers of Regina, Camille Tessier-Bussieres of Quebec City and Marie-Christine Schmidt of Lachine, Que., earned bronze in the 500 metres.

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Mortimer, 21, has trained with the Oakville, Ont.-based van Koeverden since he was 16 years old and remains second on Canada's kayak depth chart to the Athens Olympics gold medallist, which means it's likely that Mortimer will have to shoot for a spot in a K-2 or K-4 boat to punch his ticket to China.

"I have to make some big decisions regarding where I will try to qualify for the Olympics, whether it will be K-2 or K-4, or whether I'll try to beat Adam in K-1, which would obviously be a very difficult task," Mortimer said. "I have a great deal of respect for Adam.

"Hopefully, one day, I'll be able to live up to the success he's had internationally. For the time being, I'm happy where I am."

At the track, Megan Metcalfe of Edmonton won the gold medal in the women's 5,000 metres and 40 minutes later, Edmonton-based sprinter Adam Kunkel powered to gold in the men's 400-metre hurdles.

Metcalfe, 25, ran with a cluster of four women for 10 of the race's 12 laps before taking command on the second-last lap.

"I felt so relaxed and I knew I had a strong finish," Metcalfe said after taking a victory lap wrapped in a Canadian flag. "When I made my move, I just had to say, 'Oh, Lord, just go.'"

She didn't just go, she toasted the field over the last lap and a half.

Kunkel's victory was no less dramatic.

The 26-year-old native of Paisley, Ont., came off the final turn just behind 2004 Olympic champion Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic. But Sanchez, the defending Pan Am champion, as well, clipped the 10th hurdle, stumbled and seemed to pull a muscle. Kunkel cruised home in 48.24 seconds, his best-ever time.

Ian Millar, 60, of Perth, Ont., led the equestrian team to a silver medal, clinching the Canadian team a berth at the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing in 2008.

For Millar, Beijing will be his ninth trip to the Olympics, the most of any Canadian athlete in history.

The synchronized swimming duo of Marie-Pier Boudreau-Gagnon of Montreal and Isabelle Rampling of Burlington, Ont., won the silver medal.

(EDMONTON JOURNAL)

PAN AM GAMES

Medal standings

G S B Tot

U.S. 85 74 46 205

Cuba 46 29 36 111

Brazil 40 36 53 129

Canada 31 35 47 113

Mexico 14 15 20 49

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007