Catharine Pendrel wins silver at the Pan Am Games
Harvey Station native comes in second to a Canadian teammate in women's mountain bike racing
Harvey Station's Catharine Pendrel added another medal to her collection yesterday. Pendrel finished just seven seconds behind her Canadian teammate Emily Batty, earning her a silver medal in women's mountain biking.
"It came down to just trying to gain position. She tried to come around me, I tried to come around her, and it just went back and forth," said Pendrel.
"It was just an ever so small gap opening up and just a little bit more on one climb and that got her away."
The two Canadians took the lead early on in the race.
The bronze medal winner, American Erin Huck, finished more than five minutes behind them.
Pendrel's time for the five-lap race was 1:27:20, at the Hardwood Mountain Bike Park.
Pendrel said biking in front of a Canadian crowd helped her perform.
"An event like this helps us really bring out our best. It brought out so many people to cheer us on. It was just a really exciting atmosphere," said Pendrel.
This isn't Pendrel's first Pan Am medal.
In 2007, at the Pan Am Games in Rio, she won a gold medal. Now, her mind is on Rio again, except this time she is thinking about the Olympics.
"If we can repeat this next year that would be even more fantastic," said Pendrel.