Mississauga’s Don Rowing Club is the home of a Pan American Games gold medalist.
Dan Casaca, 22, who trains with the Don on the Credit River, teamed with Chris Jarvis, to win Canada’s first rowing gold medal on Tuesday at the Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The gold came in the coxless pair 2,000-metre race, which the pair won in windy conditions with a time of 6 minutes and 34.26 seconds, beating the second place team from the United States by 10 seconds. A Brazilian tandem placed third.
“On the way to the start, it was pretty rough, but it wasn’t as bad at the start,” said Casaca in reference to the blustery conditions. “We thought that in our race for lanes earlier this week, that people were playing games and not showing their true potential. We saw an excellent race for second (6:37.89) and third (6:38.16) today.”
Jarvis was ecstatic after the victory.
“Dan (Casaca) and I have been excited about racing together since selection to the Pan-Am team last month,” said Jarvis. “Our expectations were set high and we enjoyed reaching them and striding away from our competition.
“Singing our national anthem at the awards ceremony was a perfect reward for our hard work and the patience of our coaches,” added Jarvis. “It’s a step towards the dream of doing the same in Beijing (at the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics).”

cmacbride@mississauga.net