sa国际传媒 was powered by a blast from the past at the 2019 Pan American Games.
Former University of Victoria Vikes rugby star Sean Duke scored his first try for sa国际传媒 in more than two years on Saturday in Lima, Peru.
Duke had taken the past two years off from the pitch to attend medical school at the University of British Columbia after earning his undergraduate degree at UVic. He only returned to training with the national team at Westhills Stadium this summer.
Both the Langford-based Canadian men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 sevens teams advanced to today鈥檚 semifinals in an attempt to defend their gold medals from the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games.
sa国际传媒 finished 2-1 in the men鈥檚 preliminary round after Nathan Hirayama, another former UVic Vikes great, scored two tries in a 31-0 victory over Uruguay, which was followed by a 31-0 win over the cult-hit 鈥淐ool Scrummings鈥� Jamaican team before falling 12-7 to Argentina.
The Canadian men meet Brazil in the semifinals today.
The 2016 Rio Olympics bronze-medallist Canadian women鈥檚 team opened with commanding wins in pool play 鈥� 54-0 over Mexico with Caroline Crossley of Victoria scoring two tries, 54-0 against host Peru and 26-0 over Brazil.
The Canadian women play Colombia in the semifinals today.
Both the Canadian men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams have qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so have sent a roster dotted with veterans and developmental players.
Coming out of training at Weshills Stadium, and from performing with the Maple Leaf development teams, Brennig Prevost of Victoria and Josh Thiel, a late replacement for UVic Vikes player Isaac Kaay, earned their first caps on the men鈥檚 side for sa国际传媒. Delaney Aikens, Olivia de Couvreur, Asia Hogan-Rochester and Temitiope Ogunjimi won their first sa国际传媒 caps on the women鈥檚 side.
There are, however, several familiar names on the Canadian teams in Lima, including Hirayama, Duke, Luke McCloskey of Victoria, Patrick Kay of Duncan and captain Harry Jones on the men鈥檚 squad, and Crossley, Pam Buisa of the UVic Vikes and Kayla Moleschi on the women鈥檚 team.
Also going for a medal today in Lima are Desirae Ridenour of Cowichan Bay and Hannah Henry of Victoria, Alexis Lepage of Gatineau, Que, and another male to be named in the mixed relay triathlon event.
The team will be trying to end a bit of a drought. sa国际传媒 has won nine triathlon medals overall at the Pan Am Games.
But the last podium performances by a Canadian triathlete at the Games were the silver medal in Rio 2007 and bronze medal in Guadalajara 2011, both won by two-time Olympian Brent McMahon of Victoria.
Islander Ridenour, meanwhile, will be trying to make up for a close fourth-place finish with the Canadian relay team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
There are more than 50 Island or Island-based athletes on the Canadian team at the 2019 Pan Am Games, which began Friday in the Peruvian capital and run through Aug. 11.
