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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 39 | Thursday, July 16, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Burloak Canoe Club's Mark Oldershaw (far left) and Adam van Koeverden both won Pan Am Games medals Monday in Welland. Oldershaw claimed silver in the men's canoeing singles 1,000 metres minutes after van Koeverden earned a bronze in the men's kayaking singles 1,000m. | photos by Riziero Vertolli -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog Silver, bronze and no regrets for Burloak paddlers by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Burloak Canoe Club's Mark Oldershaw and Adam van Koeverden weren't shy about their high expectations going into Monday's Pan Am Games 1,000-metre canoe and kayak finals in Welland. They both earned spots on the podium, though not as high as they may have hoped. Oldershaw claimed silver in men's canoeing singles, crossing the finish line 1.68 seconds behind Brazil's Isaquias Quieroz Dos Santos, and van Koeverden earned bronze in men's kayaking singles, overtaken down the stretch by Cuba's Jorge Garcia and Argentina's Daniel Dal Bo. Afterwards, the two nationally-celebrated paddlers took their results in stride. "I did exactly what I wanted to do the whole way. My body just didn't react to the final 200 metres the way I'd anticipated," said van Koeverden, an Oakville Loyola high school grad whose four career Olympic medals rank him first all-time in Canadian paddling history. "Honestly, they were just faster today. This is not where my training is at right now. I prepared for this, but it's a mid-season taper, not an end-of-season taper. I certainly trained... but we have a very important race coming up in August, a world championship that is an Olympic qualifier. It's where my focus has been, though the last two weeks, this (Pan Ams) has been my focus." Van Koeverden led the field at the halfway mark Monday, so much so that the race announcer all but proclaimed him as the champion to the large crowd on hand. But Garcia ended up winning the race by more than one second over Dal Bo, who finished a second-plus ahead of van Koeverden. Oldershaw, known as a strong finisher, gave his all in an attempt to overtake Queiroz Dos Santos but finished 1.72 seconds behind the winner. "I never give up. I made a push and he held it off, and that's pretty hard psychologically," said the 32-year-old Burlington native. "He (Queiroz Dos Santos, the world record-holder in the 500m) is really fast right now, and that's why I was excited to race him. That's why we race. It was a lot of fun." Oldershaw, who was Canada's flag bearer during the Pan Am Games' opening ceremonies and also told reporters last week that he wouldn't let anyone take "my water" from him, said he would not change anything about his race preparation. "I can honestly say it didn't affect my race. I've learned to separate expectations and media from my race," said the third-generation Olympian, a bronze medallist at the London Olympics in 2012. "When I was at the start line, I felt comfortable. I looked up at the Welland train bridge tower and said, `I've raced here a few times, I'm going to go as fast as I can.' "I'd do it all the same again. At the same time, I've been saying I wanted to win gold. I'm not ashamed to say that, and I'll still say I would have rather won gold. It will just make me train that much harder all year." -- For a longer version of this story, visit bit.ly/1L2qHxq FANDOM WINGS. BEER. SPORTS.® FEED YOUR 403 AND DUNDAS · 905.829.0188 OAKVILLE