There’s no doubt about it: Team Canada has some serious young talent. After just three days at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games at La Nueva Olla Stadium in Asunción, Paraguay, the 20-athlete squad has already secured seven medals–four of which are gold–plus three meet records. On Wednesday, the spotlight belonged to 20-year-old Edmonton sprint star Dianna Proctor, who stormed to the 400m win in a championship record of 51.97 seconds. This is her second international medal.
🥇Gold for Canada
Dianna Proctor wins gold in the Women’s 400m, setting a new junior panam games record of 51.97s #ASU2025 pic.twitter.com/S6A6vCegGL
— Spot Athlete (@SpotAthlete) August 21, 2025
Proctor held off the field by nearly two-tenths of second and shaved more than a tenth of a second off the former record of 52.10, set in 2021. Bermuda’s Caitlyn Bobb took silver in 52.14, while Jamaica’s Shanakaye Anderson ran 53.41 for bronze.
The Edmonton native, who has an impressive personal best of 51.30 and recently won bronze at the Canadian track championships, holds a silver medal from last year’s U20 World Championships in Lima, Peru. Her outstanding resume also includes three U Sports gold medals (300m, 4x200m and 4x400m) earned during her rookie season competing for the University of Guelph.
At Pan Ams, fellow Albertan Ella Clayton of Calgary raced to sixth in 55.19.
Isabella Goudros takes the heptathlon crown
Also putting on a stellar performance was Toronto’s Isabella (Izzy) Goudros, who concluded her busy seven-event schedule with a solid 800m win (2:15.93), securing a total of 5,561 points in the women’s heptathlon and taking home gold.
With excellent performances across the board, Goudros came out on top in three of the seven events, also winning the long jump and the 200m. Brazil’s Ana Luisa Ferraz (5508 pts) took second place and Paraguay’s own Ana Paula Arguello (5249) rounded out the podium.
Elizarov shatters Pan Am pole vault record
Shattering Team Canada’s third meeting record was Waterloo, Ont.’s U Sports pole vault star Jennifer Elizarov, who soared to gold with a 4.45-m jump. Her result crushed the previous mark of 4.20m by a full 25 cm. Canadian teammate Heather Abadie cleared 4.00m for second place, while Brazil’s Luana De Moura vaulted 3.90m for third.
Pearson and Nubbe take silver
The women’s 800m final on Tuesday saw a tight race where the top four athletes all dipped under the former championship record; Avery Pearson of Meadow Lake, Sask., pushed to the finish, claiming the runner-up spot in 2:06.09. Brazil’s Sabrina Pena won the title in 2:05.87 and Maria Rojas of Venezuela took a close third, running 2:06:10.
On Wednesday, Canadian hammer thrower Jeremiah Nubbe also snuck under the previous meet record, but had to settle for silver, with a throw of 70.49m; Argentina’s Olivera Tomás took the title with a 70.61-m throw and Chile’s Benjamín Muñoz claimed bronze with 67.04m.
Advancing to the final
In his 800m semi-final on Wednesday, John O’Reilly of Toronto took the top spot in his heat in 1:50.81; he will advance to the event final set for Friday. Barrie, Ont.’s Emily Martin also qualified for the women’s 200m final on Thursday.
Team Canada’s squad of 12 women and eight men includes four sprinters, seven endurance athletes, one hurdler and eight field athletes. The Junior Pan Am event, which runs from Monday through Friday, will see 490 junior athletes from across the Americas competing in 45 track and field events.
See here for full results from the 2025 Junior Pan Am Games.
Ontario runner sets Junior Pan Am Games 10,000m record
