VICTORIA - Thirteen current and former University of Victoria athletes competed at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago Chile, across four sports with many of them vying for the podium in a year where Canada finished with an impressive 164 medals.

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Rowing

Making her team Canada debut, women's rowing alumna Abby Speirs left her mark in a big way by helping the Canadian women's rowing eight to a Pan American gold medal –the only gold medal earned by Canadian rowers in Chile. The Island-based Rowing Canada opted to send a development team to the Pan Am Games, given that it's not an Olympic qualifier. The success of this team in Chile will make for some competitive seat races and an exciting lead-up to Paris 2024.

A 2023 Canadian university rowing champion with the Vikes, Speirs also came just shy of making the podium with the women's four and the mixed eight, missing the bronze medal and coming in fourth by 0.2 seconds in both races.

"This was my first major multi-sport event as well as my first-time representing Canada in rowing, and it was the most incredible experience. Getting to put the maple leaf on my oar and race down the course in the red and white was so special and something that I've aspired to do since I started rowing," said Speirs.

"We knew that the past couple months of training had gone well, but winning a gold medal absolutely exceeded my wildest dreams. Standing on that podium, singing along to Oh Canada with eight amazing women by my side, is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I feel so grateful for all of the support from the Vikes, friends and family and Rowing Canada for making this experience possible," Speirs continued.

Current UVic men's rowers Connor Attridge and Quinn Storey were part of the mixed eight that narrowly missed out on adding to the medal tally on the final day of competition, finishing fourth in a heated battle with the Cuban crew.

Attridge and Storey, who competed in the men's pair together, narrowly missed the A-final but came back strong to dominate the B Final, taking first place. Their strong showing representing Canada at the Pan Games foreshadows what's hopefully to come from the pair at the Canadian University Rowing Championships.

Rugby

Canada's rugby sevens teams concluded the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games with battles against the United States for medals, with the women's sevens team falling to the United States to take silver and the men's team beating the United States to win bronze. The Vikes were well represented, with Carissa Norsten, Lucie Romeo and Shaylaya Valenzuela (alum) on the women's side and former Vikes Ethan Hager and Lochlan Kratz representing the men.

Last year's U SPORTS women's rugby Rookie of the Year and standout Norsten scored her first international sevens try for Canada in the tournament's first match, quickly proving that she has a bright future with the Canadian side.

For Romeo, who was originally named as a reserve, the opportunity to go to Chile came with a last-minute call-up just days before kickoff. The tournament marked her first international cap for Canada, and in remarkable fashion, scoring tries against Chile and Brazil.

Field Hockey

Former Vikes Kathleen Leahy and Anna Mollenhauer were looking to help the Canadian women's field hockey team earn a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics. In a tightly contested bronze medal match, the Canadian women faced off against the hosts, Chile. Despite a valiant effort on offence and defence, Canada fell short as Chile secured the victory, claiming the third-place finish.

However, despite the disappointment of missing out on the bronze medal, Canada's fourth-place finish is significant. It means they will advance to the next stage of Olympic qualification, keeping their dreams of competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics alive.

Swimming 

A four-time Pan Am Games silver medalist, Danielle Hanus added to her medal count in Santiago by winning a bronze medal in the 100-metre backstroke, a discipline she dominated during her time as a Vike.

The 2022 U SPORTS Swimmer of the Year also snagged a bronze in the 4x100-metre medley relay, bringing her all-time Pan American medal count to six. 

As the only member of Canada's open water swim team with previous Games experience, Eric Hedlin looked to better his placing from the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games, where he finished ninth. Challenging to stay in the lead pack, the former UVic Athlete of the Year finished in 16th position, touching five minutes after the lead finishing in 1:55:22.80.
 

University of Victoria student-athletes (current and former) who competed at the 2023 Pan American Games:

Rowing
Connor Attridge
Quinn Storey
Abby Speirs

Field Hockey
Kathleen Leahy
Anna Mollenhauer
Alexis DeArmond

Rugby
Carissa Norsten
Lucie Romeo
Shaylaya Valenzuela
Ethan Hager
Lochlan Kratz

Swimming
Eric Hedlin
Danielle Hanus