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Commonwealth Games
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Bessette brings home gold for Canada
After winning a cycling gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, Bessette now hopes to travel the road to Sydney on a bicycle.
"All the goals since I was a little girl are more reachable by cycling," the 23-year-old from Knowlton, Que., said after winning the 92-kilometre women's road race.
Canada picked up seven medals Sunday, the second full day of competition. The medal haul included a silver and bronze in shooting, a silver and two bronze in swimming, and a bronze in gymnastics. Canadian Sid Allen, meanwhile, coached host Malaysia to its first gold of the Games -- in the men's tenpin bowling event.
Canada has two gold, three silver and seven bronze to tie England with 12 medals in total. Only Australia has more medals with 27, including 13 gold.
The team of Christina Ashcroft of Kitchener, Ont., and Maureen Spinney of Toronto finished second in the small-bore sport-rifle prone competition. Australia won the gold while Scotland took the bronze.
"It feels absolutely amazing," said Spinney, who will shoot in the individual event later in the week.
"To have it go really well and to feel great when you're finished, it does amazing things for your confidence going into the individual."
John Rochon of Elliot Lake, Ont., and Jean-Pierre Huot of Pontbriand, Que., won the bronze in the men's pairs free pistol. England won the gold and Australia the silver.
Courtenay Chuy, 13, of Port Coquitlam, B.C., captured the silver in the 200-metre breaststroke won by Australian Samantha Riley. Lauren Van Oosten of Calgary won the bronze.
Vancouver's Jessica Deglau, who had led morning qualifying in the 200-metre freestyle, claimed the bronze behind Australian winner Susan O'Neill and England's Karen Pickering.
Canada now has six medals -- one gold, two silver and three bronze -- in two days of swimming competition.
Australia's 4x200-metre men's freestyle swim relay team, meanwhile, set a world record. Ian Thorpe, Daniel Kowalski, Matt Dunn and Michael Klim were clocked in seven minutes 11.86 seconds to beat the record of 7:11.95 set by the Unified Team that competed at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Australia won all five of Sunday's swimming golds and now has eight of the 10 golds contested here. The Australian swimmers are aiming for the record 25 golds they won in 1994 in Victoria.
The Canadian women's gymnastics team -- Emilie Fournier of Iberville, Que., Crystal Gilmore of Cambridge, Ont., Veronique Leclerc of St-Hubert, Que., Lise Leveille of Burnaby, B.C., and Katie Rowland of Georgetown, Ont., -- matched the bronze-medal performance of their male counterparts Saturday. The Australian women won the gold while England took the silver.
Canada's sevens rugby side continued to impress, downing Wales 45-7 with the Victoria duo of Winston Stanley and Jeff Williams combining for 25 points.
Bessette's gold came after she edged New Zealand's Susy Pryde by one bicycle length. Australia's Anna Wilson was leading until 500 metres from the finish but her foot slipped off her pedal as she tried to make a final sprint.
"It's sad to say but I think Anna could have won that race," said Bessette, who rode the rain-covered course in two hours 24 minutes 59 seconds.
"When I saw (her slip) I knew it was down to two people. I knew I was in a good position and I knew what to do."
Bessette spent 11 years as a middle-distance runner. She took up cycling just two years ago as a way to recover from a track injury.
"At the beginning of the race, I knew I could win, but you never know until you pass the finish line," Bessette said. "I think I was getting stronger as the race was going. I got into and my legs felt better. I want to keep doing track because of my speed. I'm not a fast girl."
Wilson finished third in the race.
Linda Jackson of Nepean, Ont., was sixth. Vancouver's Andrea Hannos was 12th followed by Annie Gariepy of Bromont, Que., in 13th, Kimberly Langton of Burlington, Ont., in 15th and Anne Samplonius of Oakville, Ont., in 23rd.
Pryde just missed winning New Zealand's 100th gold medal in Commonwealth Games history.
Wilson's blunder echoed a similar disastrous Australian slip-up. Track cycling team member Shane Kelly was the favourite for the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics but his foot slipped from the pedal at the start.
"I'm not happy to have a bronze, but I'm happy to have a medal," Wilson said as she fought back tears.
Former Olympic champion Kathy Watt failed in her bid to win a third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal. The Australian was unable to stick with the leaders at the final bell and placed fifth.
Jackson called Watt a selfish rider who was more interested in winning the race for herself than helping her teammates.
"I can't believe Australia keeps taking her to Games," said Jackson.
Watt's fiance, Carey Hall, called Jackson's comments sour grapes, adding: "Let's face it, Kathy beat Linda in the road race four years ago in Linda's home country."
Jackson was riding despite the pain from strained abdominal and inner thigh muscles suffered in practice here, and may miss the time trial event.
"It's really disappointing. . . . But I have won some big races this year. You can't win them all. It's just bad luck," she said.
Second-seeded Jonathon Power of Toronto advanced to the quarter-finals in men's singles squash play, toppling Asian champion Zarak Jahan Khan 9-6, 9-0, 9-4. But No. 10 Graham Ryding of Toronto was eliminated 9-4, 9-4, 9-1 by top-seeded Peter Nicol of Scotland.
Jacinthe Taillon of St-Eustache, Que., and Kasia Kulesza of Laval, Que., led the duet synchronized swimming competition after the technical routines, worth 35 per cent of the total score.
In lawn bowling, Kevin Jones of London, Ont., beat Cliff Richardson of Botswana 25-18 while James McLellan of St. Mary's, Ont., and Mark Sanford of Toronto went 1-1 on the day, defeating Northern Ireland before losing to New Zealand in pairs play
Fiji defeated the Canadian women's fours team 24-17 while the men's fours thumped Cook Islands 19-10.
In other shooting action, Wayne Sorenson of Calgary and Michel Dion of Pont-Rouge, Que., were fifth in the men's air rifle pairs while Kim Eagles od Maple Ridge, B.C., and Violaine Marin of Saint-Leonard, Que., were fourth in the women's pairs sport pistol.
On the tenpin bowling lanes, Australia took the gold and Malaysia settled for silver in the women's doubles. England claimed the bronze while Canada's entry of Catherine Willis of Duncan, B.C., and Jane Amlinger of Kitchener, Ont., finished fifth.
Warren Rennox of Toronto and Bill Rowe of Hamilton finished eighth in the men's event.
In boxing, featherweight Marty O'Donnell of Lower Sackville, N.S., defeated a Malaysian opponent.