Hersey, who took home the competition's first gold medal, won the women's 400m IM in 4:44.08 and was followed closely by teammate Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.), who took silver in 4:46.18. Argentina's Georgina Bardach was third in 4:47.46.
"I didn't realize I had won the first gold of the meet," Hersey said. "It definitely adds to the excitement." Hersey and Crippen both said that they were comfortable with the Olympic schedule featuring evening preliminary sessions and morning finals. "This is my first time swimming in morning finals and it's good preparation for what it would be like in Beijing," Crippen said. "The schedule is great. It's good for television and can help grow the sport. It also worked out well for me and I had my best time."
Rodriquez, who turned 17 Tuesday, celebrated her birthday with a win in the women's 400m free. Rodriquez took the lead in the last 100m of the race and finished in 4:12.22 to claim gold. Mexico's Patricia Midori Castaneda Miyamoto won silver in 4:13.34 and Team USA's Corrine Showalter (Sarasota, Fla.) won bronze in 4:13.72. "The gold medal is the best birthday present I've ever received," Rodriquez said.
Robert Margalis (St. Petersburg, Fla.) won silver in the men's 400m IM with a time of 4:17.52. Behind the cheers of the hometown crowd, Brazil's Thiago Pereira won gold and shattered the Pan American Games record by swimming a 4:11.14, breaking the former mark of 4:15.52. Canada's Keith Beavers took the bronze at 4:19.01, and American Andrew Callahan (Alpharetta, Ga.) was seventh in 4:26.86.
Margalis anchored the men's 800m free relay team that touched in 7:15.00 to claim silver behind the Brazilian squad. Also swimming for Team USA were Ricky Berens (Charlotte, N.C), Matthew Owen (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Andy Grant (Livermore, Calif.). The Brazilians set a Pan Am Games record of 7:12.63 to win their second gold of the day, and the Canadian team took bronze at 7:17.73.
In addition to Team USA winning six medals, every American swimming in a semifinal race this morning advanced to the finals, which will be swum Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.
In semi-final action, Olympian Mark Gangloff (Akron, Ohio) broke his own Pan American Games record by swimming the men's 100m breast in 1:00.24, improving his mark of 1:00.95 set at the 2003 Pan Am Games. Christian Schurr (Austin, Texas) placed fifth in the semifinal and will advance to Wednesday's final with a time of 1:03.00.
Hersey and Samantha Woodward (Edmond, Okla.) turned in the top two times in the women's 100m fly semifinal, going 59.50 and 59.88, respectively. Woodward also advanced as the fifth seed in the women's 50m free after swimming the semi in 25.74. Woodward and Olympian Maritza Correira (Valrico, Fla.), who qualified with a sixth-place time of 25.81., will both swim in Wednesday's 50m free final.
Gabe Woodward (Bakersfield, Calif.) swam the 100m free in 49.48 for the second-best time, and Dale Rogers (Austin, Texas) was fifth at 49.67. Pat O'Neil (Roseburg, Ore.) was fifth in the 100m fly at 53.44, and Berens swam a 53.66 to finish eighth. All four swimmers will compete in their event final Wednesday.
Swimming competition continues with preliminary races Tuesday night at 7 p.m. local time. Finals and semifinals continue Wednesday at 10 a.m. where medals will be awarded in the men's 400m free, 100m fly, 100m free, and 100m breast, and the women's 50m free, 100m fly, and 800m free relay.
ESPN Deportes will broadcast of the 2007 Pan American Games swimming competition Tuesday, July 17 at 5:30 p.m. ET and Wednesday, July 18 at 7 p.m. ET. The meet broadcast will continue through Sunday, July 22. Check local listings for times.
About USA Swimming: As the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the United States, USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year. For more information, visit USA Swimming on-line.
