RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- It was fitting on many levels that Team Canada handed its Pan Am Games farewell flagwaving duties to triple gold-medallist Alexandra Orlando, whose ribbon malfunctioned disastrously in rhythmic gymnastics preliminaries.

These Games, after all, were about learning to win for Canadian athletes, a simulation of the "expect-the-unexpected" environment many believe awaits them at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.

Rio is not Beijing and the Pan Ams are clearly not the Olympics, but Canadian athletes across the board demonstrated an aggressive, winning attitude and noteworthy team unity in Brazil.

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Kia Byers (left) of Regina and Marie-Christine Schmidt of Lachine, Que., take a shining to kayak gold

Reuters

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The attitude was best summed up by Swimming Canada major domo Pierre Lafontaine, who told Keith Beavers of Orangeville, Ont., after a perfunctory preliminary swim "to stop being a Canadian and just beat people."

That the Canadians did, winning 137 medals, including 39 gold, putting them third overall in the medal standings, fourth if you rank them by golden ones.

Orlando, 20, handled her mishap about as well as anyone can, considering the judges, as per the rules of her graceful, if arcane sport, marked her zero, which eliminated the Canadian champion and overwhelming gold-medal favourite from the individual all-around final and the event final in the ribbon competition.

But Orlando was among a busload of Canadians learning harsh international sporting lessons in Rio. Edmonton swimmer Annamay Pierse, for example, simply couldn't keep food down and lost eight pounds. Still, she won three silver medals, despite taking nourishment intravenously for two days.

Heptathlete Jessica Zelinka of London, Ont., won gold, gutting out the final 500 metres of the 800-metre race on a ruptured heel tendon; Edmonton trapshooter Susan Nattrass won her event while Brazilian fans cheered her misses and those of all the non-Brazilian finalists. Ottawa's Mike Beres won two gold and a silver in badminton, hobbled by a painfully bruised foot in his men's singles and mixed doubles finals.

A number of athletes qualified for Beijing with their performances in Rio. The equestrian team qualified in team eventing, team dressage and team jumping. The men's field hockey team punched a ticket to China by defeating arch-rival Argentina 5-4 in a double-overtime shootout. Shooters Avianna Chao of Toronto and Giuseppe Di Salvatore of Surrey, B.C., earned berths with their medal-winning performances.

At most venues at these Pan Am Games, Canadians were going for gold and coming up angry, with gusts up to ballistic, if they fell short.

If attitude is everything, as the saying goes, Canada showed plenty of it here. And had the results to prove it.

(Edmonton Journal)

PAN AM GAMES:

Final medal standings

G S B Tot

U.S. 97 88 52 237

Cuba 59 35 41 135

Brazil 54 40 67 161

Canada 39 43 55 137

Mexico 18 24 31 73

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007