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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 13, 2015 | 44 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Hawtin sets sights on Parapan gold Canada advances to medal round after going 3-0 in preliminary play by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Sports Oakville's Melanie Hawtin takes a shot in preliminary round action against Guatemala at the Parapan Am Games in Toronto. Canada went 3-0 to advance to today's semifinal. | photo by Dan Galbraith -- Canadian Paralympic Committee Janet McLaughlin's long pass from under the Canadian basket sailed over the head of Melanie Hawtin, her Canadian teammate Tracey Ferguson and their Brazilian opponent. Hawtin turned and began what seemed like a hopeless pursuit of the ball. With a few powerful pushes, Hawtin quickly separated herself from the other two. Suddenly, the chase didn't seem so futile. Recognizing that, Ferguson abandoned the chase and turned toward the basket. As the ball bounced toward the sideline, Hawtin gave one last push on the wheels of her chair and reached out to corral the errant pass. With her opponent still in pursuit, Hawtin spotted Ferguson and delivered a pass for an easy layup. Throughout the Canadian women's 8251 win wheelchair basketball win over Brazil Tuesday, the speed of the 27-year-old was on display. Employed mostly in a defensive role, the former national 100-metre champion is all but unbeatable down the court. That allows Hawtin to get back and establish position, forcing opponents to manoeuver around her, or working in tandem with a teammate to box in an opponent. It's a valuable asset for the Canadian team that improved to 3-0 at the Parapan Am Games and secured its spot in Thursday's semifinal against Argentina. For Hawtin and the Canadian team that won the world championship on the same Ryerson Athletic Centre court last June, they are now two wins from a repeat performance and Parapan gold. "It would be absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing," she said following Tuesday's victory. "That's what we're here for. That's what we want." Canada showed just how bad it wanted that gold. With its semifinal berth locked up, Canada could have cruised through its final preliminary-round game. Instead, the hosts were hardly gracious, opening the game on an 18-0 run on its way to a 24-4 first-quarter lead. "We've been training really hard, so we've prepared for this," Hawtin said. "We've been working really hard together as a team, as one unit, so we expect to come out strongly." Though Brazil matched Canada pointfor-point over the next two quarters, Canada again locked things down in the fourth, outscoring its opponent 24-10 with Hawtin putting the finishing touch on the triumph with a 15-footer from the left side. For Hawtin, the Parapan Am Games have given her an opportunity to reconnect with some of the track athletes she competed alongside for years. Hawtin may have still been competing with them had a surgery in 2012 not prevented her from competing in track. But she could use the wheelchair for basketball because she sat more upright. Finally giving in to Burlington Vipers coach Chris Chandler, who had been trying to convince her to give the sport a try since she was a kid, Hawtin received an invitation to the national team training camp after a strong showing at the Ontario Games. Less than two years after the switch she made the Canadian team and, as luck would have it, her first two major international tournaments have taken place a half hour's drive from home. And though she competed at worlds in wheelchair basketball and junior worlds in track, Hawtin said the Parapan Am Games have been a unique experience. "I've never been in an athletes village before," she said. "The atmosphere, seeing people from different sports, it feels like a big family." Hawtin hopes there are more experiences like it ahead. Though she prefaces it by saying she will still have to earn her spot on the team in January, Canada's semifinal berth guaranteed it a spot for next year's Paralympics in Rio. But there's still business to take care of closer to home. "That's a good feeling for all of us ladies, we've worked really hard and it's good to know we have a secured spot for Rio," Hawtin said. "But as coach Bill (Johnson) said, it's not over yet, we still have work to do here." Medal round games will be played Friday, bronze at 4:30 p.m. followed by the goldmedal game at 6:45. Brazil plays the United States in Thursday's other semifinal. Bronze-medal performances in Canadian debut a dream come true for Oakville runner by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Evelyne Guay and her teammates stood arm-in-arm on the Edmonton track with two Canadian flags stretched across their back Sunday. Having just won the bronze medal at the Panamerican Junior Track and Field Championships, there was good reason for the smiles on their faces. "It's totally different wearing the Canadian jersey," Guay said. "It's not just about you. It's about the whole country and your team. Putting that flag on your shoulders, that's been a dream of mine since I started running." It was a recurring dream on the weekend. After taking the women's 800-metre bronze on Saturday, Sunday's 4x400-metre medal was the second of the meet for Guay. What has become a dream season for the 19-year-old began as a nightmare. Finally getting over a stress fracture in her leg, Guay was looking forward to a fresh start as she began her freshman year at Iowa State University. But as she began working out with her new teammates, she found herself constantly tired. Yes, the workouts were harder than Evelyne Guay celebrates after winning one of her two bronze medals representing Canada at the Panamerican Junior Track and Field Championships in Edmonton. Guay earned bronze medals in the 800 metres and the 4x400m relay. | photo courtesy of Athletics Canada what she had done before, but it was more than that. Her hair was falling out and she was starting to doubt herself. "I've dedicated the next four or five years to running," Guay said. "I started wondering, `Am I not good anymore?'" Finally, she got an answer in late October when she was diagnosed with anemia, a condition where there are not enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to the body. Guay said it is not uncommon in athletes, but her case "was pretty severe. My coach said it was the lowest levels she had ever seen anybody have before." Though the diagnosis allowed her to start treatment, Guay said it took until the spring before she again felt back at full strength and able to fully benefit from her workouts. Still, some doubt lingered until the Victoria International Track Classic in June. Guay finished the 800m in two minutes, 5.98 seconds, cutting more than four seconds off her personal best time on her way to a second-place finish. "That was the moment I knew training was going well," she said. A 2013 provincial high school champion while at Abbey Park, Guay followed up her strong showing in Victoria by winning the national junior 800m title in Edmonton three weeks later. Competing on the same Foote Field track for the Panamerican junior championships on the weekend, Guay made her debut representing her country a memorable one by taking the bronze medal in the 800m in 2:08.52. See Guay on p. 46