Parapan Am. Governing Council / en Remembering the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games /news/remembering-toronto-2015-pan-amparapan-am-games <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Remembering the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-02T04:03:11-05:00" title="Monday, November 2, 2015 - 04:03" class="datetime">Mon, 11/02/2015 - 04:03</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"> Shelley Gautier, Jason Wurster and Josh Binstock with former Lieutenant-Governor David Onley (at right) and members of Governing Council</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/michael-kurts" hreflang="en">Michael Kurts</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Michael Kurts</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sports" hreflang="en">Sports</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/parapan-am-governing-council" hreflang="en">Parapan Am. Governing Council</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pan-am" hreflang="en">Pan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/athletes" hreflang="en">Athletes</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Looking back on a fantastic summer - already enjoying the legacy</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>It was a few months ago but the memories of the <a href="http://panam2015.utoronto.ca/">Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan&nbsp;Am Games</a> are still alive across the 91³Ô¹Ï and the entire GTA. &nbsp;</p> <p>The university’s Governing Council recently relived some incredible moments as athletes reflected on&nbsp;the legacy of the games.</p> <p>Four 91³Ô¹Ï athletes were on hand – three in person and one on video. &nbsp;</p> <p>91³Ô¹Ï alumnus <strong>Zack Chetrat</strong>, who won a bronze medal in the 200-metre butterfly, told governors competing close to home made the 2015 games an unforgettable experience.</p> <p>“On the night of my race, I looked up into the crowd and saw my entire family and all my friends,†said Chetrat, who spoke via video from the pool deck at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC) on the UTSC campus. “To see a bunch of my teammates there, all wearing their 91³Ô¹Ï gear and cheering me on, was something very special.â€</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7ToYPZmYuoY?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p> <p><strong>Shelley Gautier</strong>, a 12-time Paracycling Road World Champion and a repeat silver medalist in the event this year (she also won silver at Guadalajara in 2011 and is training for next year’s Paralympics) showed off a picture of her medal. Her mother had the real thing and was getting it and all of her medals framed to occupy a prominent place in the family home.</p> <p>Pole vaulter <strong>Jason Wurster</strong>, whose games and summer were made particularly memorable by the arrival of a baby boy, and current world champion beach volleyball player <strong>Josh Binstock</strong>, who’s training for next year’s Olympics, talked about how exhilarating it was to play in front of a home town crowd – a rarity for athletes who regularly compete at venues around the world. &nbsp;</p> <p>Beyond the memories, one consistent theme was the importance of the legacy left behind by the 2015 games. &nbsp;</p> <p>“Most dramatically, we improved significantly the facilities for co-curricular sport, physical activity, recreation, health and wellness for members of our internal and external community,†said 91³Ô¹Ï President <strong>Meric Gertler</strong>, pointing to TPASC, the UTSC Tennis Centre, the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport and the Back Campus Fields. “These facilities are also conducive to better teaching, research and community engagement in sport as well as basic sciences, such as stress physiology and cell biology.â€</p> <p>Former Lieutenant-Governor <strong>David Onley</strong>, was the university’s Special Ambassador to the games.</p> <p>“One of the most remarkable success stories from the Games was their integration,†said Onley. “They were fully accessible to all: to the athletes who came to Toronto to compete, to the spectators who came to cheer them on.â€</p> <p>91³Ô¹Ï facilities were host to some of Canada’s best athletes – a fact confirmed by the medal count.&nbsp;At UTSC venues, Team Canada won 140 medals. The games also provided a venue for the university to welcome the Americas and the community. 91³Ô¹Ï Houses at UTSC and the downtown Toronto campus&nbsp;hosted almost 3700 guests over the course of the games. More than 20 91³Ô¹Ï athletes participated in the games. &nbsp;</p> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/tags/pan-am-0">Read more about the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games</a></h2> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-02-pan-am-gautier.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 02 Nov 2015 09:03:11 +0000 sgupta 7401 at