(MENAFN- Arab Times) Canada got the Pan American Games off to a golden start topping the medal table after claiming four gold on Saturday and Toronto plenty of reason to come out and join the Pan Am party. Talk of sluggish ticket sales disappeared under a brilliant Canadian summer sun as large enthusiastic crowds turned out at many venues to cheer on their home country.
But attendance problems appear far from over as large swathes of empty seats could still be seen some events particularly at soccer and rugby.
Canadian synchronized swimmers Jacqueline Simoneau and Karine Thomas, Chilean triathlete Barbara Riveros and Mexican divers Rommel Pacheco and Paola Espinosa earned direct qualifying spots into next year's Rio Olympics as a bonus for winning gold in their events.
Riding a wave of hometown support, Canada's women kayakers won the first gold of the Games as Michelle Russell, Emilie Fournel, KC Fraser and Hannah Vaughan powered home ahead of Cuba in the K-4 500 metres.
"The crowd was cheering so loud I can't even explain it. In words, I can't even explain it," said Fraser.
"When we got to the last 200 metres of our race you just hear the crowd screaming so loud and it just gives you that drive."
Canada's golden success continued in the synchronized swimming pool with Simoneau and Thomas winning the duet competition and then were back in the water a few hours later to help Canada to the team title.
Troy Nyhaug then won the men's BMX while the hosts also picked up silver in judo and another silver and two bronze from the diving pool to bring their medal total to eight, one ahead of the United States, Mexico and Colombia, who all finished the day on seven medals.
Americans Felicia Stancil took top spot in the women's BMX, Eva Fabiam in the women's open water swim while the men won the artistic gymnastics team event.
Mexico continued its domination of the Pan Am diving competition with Pacheco, who competed at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, taking gold in the men's three-metre springboard and Espinosa, a two-times Olympic medallist, winning the women's 10 metre platform.
Colombia took two gold medals from the weightlifting while Brazil, Ecuador, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Chile also won golds on the first day.
Medals in 12 events will be decided while automatic qualifying spots for the Rio Olympics on offer in triathlon, shooting and equestrian.
Meanwhile, it's fast, there's plenty of contact, lots of scoring and games are over in 20 minutes.
It's rugby sevens, and it's a bit of a mystery for some attending the Pan Am Games, just as it will be next year in Rio de Janeiro where rugby returns to the Olympics after a 92-year absence.
Not only is the game fast-paced, but it's compact. Organizers crammed 21 matches into two sessions on Saturday, nine of which were women's games. Sunday features 21 more.
"You can see a lot of different nationalities play because you get a few minutes of each, and that's it," said Caitlin Russell, who traveled from the western city of Calgary to watch the Pan Am Games. "You don't waste much time."
To be fair, the sport is easily understood and followed in rugby-playing countries like New Zealand or Australia, but not so much in the North America, or in Olympic-host country Brazil.
"I think it's very fan-friendly once people understand what it is they should be watching for," said Caitlin's father Tony.
The game agreed with Canadian fans on Saturday as Canada won by lopsided scores. Canada's women defeated Colombia 55-0, and Mexico 60-0. The Canadian men won over Guyana 45-0.
In related story, Athletes will one day come to multi-sport events like the Pan American Games knowing they are competing on a level playing free of drug cheats, says Craig Reedie, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
For some, ridding the world of performance-enhancing drugs is a losing battle, but for Reedie, a British Olympic official who took over as WADA chief 18 months ago, there would be no reason to get up in the morning and go to work if he believed the war cannot be won.
"I'm a glass half full man, I want to believe it is possible to have clean sport," Reedie told Reuters during a stop at the Pan American Games in Toronto. "I am prepared to happily concede that in a world of many billion people there is never going to be total eradication.
"But I think there is a very reasonable chance that at an organised sport level we can get to a situation where those people who cheat are an ever diminishing part of the sport family.
"I wouldn't be particularly comfortable waking up on Monday morning thinking we have no chance. Why bother?"
While the corruption scandal rocking world soccer and cleaning up FIFA have become the new sporting cause du jour, the fight to remove drugs goes on out of the spotlight.
At the 2011 Pan Ams in Guadalajara, Mexico, three athletes failed doping tests just hours after the opening ceremony, offering a quick reminder that anti-doping crusaders must remain vigilant.
Four years later in Toronto that memory is not forgotten. Pan Am officials have put in place a comprehensive drug-testing program that reflects the largest multi-sport event ever staged in Canada with 7,000 athletes from 41 countries.
The TO2015 Anti-Doping Program is providing doping control services before and during the Games on behalf of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). It will conduct 1,500 urine tests and over 400 blood tests.
Testing procedures will follow the revised WADA Code which Reedie says is a polished document that is about as good as it is going get.
WADA's first president, outspoken Canadian Dick Pound, shot from the hip, putting the anti-doping issue on the front pages. He was followed by Australian politician John Fahey, who employed a more diplomatic approach, bringing greater government and law enforcement involvement to the fight.
Reedie sees his mandate as one that is clearly defined, getting WADA's various constituencies to make better use of the tools they have been provided.
"The rules of the game have been clearly established," said Reedie. "This is the third revision of the Code. We should have the rules in about an ideal state.
"We've now got everybody compliant in having a set of rules. What I want to see now is everyone under this set of rules doing it better.
"I want everybody to say; ok the rules are now clear we need to do this better.
"I would like to see our compliance efforts being respected and everybody picking up the pace and doing it better.
"That's where I think I am."
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