Argentine dentist Juan
Carlos Dasque shot down the gold medal of men's trap event and
qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the Pan American
Games on Monday.
Dasque's winning mark of 138 hits also broke the previous meet
record.
"Once in a while, I manage to train four times a week. I'm a
dentist and every time I'm not working I'm practicing. I don't
have a sponsor, I'm on my own. The best I've got were a thousand
plates to train before I came here. It will be really difficult to
keep on practicing like this," Dasque said.
American shooter Bret Erickson finished second at 137, followed
by Giuseppe di Salvatore of Canada in the third place at 134.
Erickson was not sure about his Olympic future: "I guaranteed a
place for USA at the 2008 Olympic Games, but that doesn't mean
that I will be the one that will be sent to Beijing."
Chilean cyclist Enzo Cesario, who won the men's individual
pursuit title on Monday, was luckier than Dasque as he does has a
sponsor: "This support is essential because there no government
help. Without the sponsorship, it would be impossible to be here
because we wouldn't have conditions to train."
Cesario clocked a winning time of 4 minutes 37.089 seconds to
take the title, followed by Thomas Gil of Venezuela in the second
place at 4:38.468. The bronze medal went to Fernando Antogna of
Argentina at 4:41.327.
Monday's weightlifting competition also produced a new Pan
American Games record as Cuban strongman Ivan Cambar snatched
156kg to beat the previous mark.
Cambar went on to lift 194kg in the clean and jerk to garner a
winning total of 350kg. "I came to the Pan American Games as a
favourite and, since the beginning, I felt a hard pressure. I knew
it would have been a big disappointment in my country if I went
back home without a medal. Now I can go back home relaxed," Cambar
said.
Angel Matos won the day's another gold medal for Cuba as he
beat American James Moontasri 7-0 in the men's 80kg class
taekwondo final.
"The final was easier than I thought. I'm a fighter that hits
hard and I take advantage of my height to always keep a certain
distance from my opponent. Now I'll concentrate for the
pre-Olympic tournament which will be held in Manchester, England,
in September," Matos said.
Canada also won two gold medals on Monday through Karine
Sergerie in the women's 67kg class taekwondo and Chao Avianne in
the women's 10m air pistol respectively.
After Monday's competitions, the United States still leads the
medal table with 14 golds, followed by Cuba in the second place
at 5. Canada places in the third position with 4 gold medals.