A third athlete from the Cowichan Valley has collected a medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru.
Ladysmith’s Faith Knelson, a former student at Duncan’s Queen of Angels School, swam to bronze in the women’s 100m breaststroke on Tuesday, the first day of swimming competition at the Pan Am Games.
She joins Duncan’s Pat Kay and Cowichan Bay’s Desirae Ridenour, who won silver medals in men’s rugby sevens and the triathlon mixed relay, respectively, earlier in the games.
Knelson, a 17-year-old from Ladysmith, who got her start with the Ladysmith-Chemainus Orcas,finished third in her final on Tuesday evening with a time of 1:07.42, 0.48 seconds back of first-place Anne Lazor from the U.S. and 0.33 seconds back of second-place Julia Sebastian from Argentina, and 0.32 seconds ahead of fourth-place Melissa Rodriguez from Mexico.
Earlier in the day, Knelson finished second in her heat, just behind Rodriguez.
One of the youngest swimmers on Team Canada, Knelson is also on the list of potential competitors in the women’s 4x100m medley relay on Saturday