SANTO DOMINGO, Aug 16: Brazilian swimmer Fernando Scherer outshone Olympic champion Gary Hall on Friday to win the 50 metres freestyle and claim his seventh consecutive Pan American Games gold medal.

Brazil’s players pleaded for financial support after beating Canada 2-1 to win the women’s soccer while the men’s team blamed Jamaican referee Peter Prendergast after losing 1-0 to Argentina in their final.

Cuba predictably dominated the first day of boxing finals, winning four of the six golds.

Scherer took swimming’s shortest race in 22.40 seconds, 2/100ths of a second ahead of Argentina’s Jose Meolans and 3/100ths clear of Hall, one of the few top U.S. swimmers to grace the event.

Hall shared the 50 metres gold medal at the Sydney Olympics with compatriot Anthony Erwin after the pair pulled off a rare dead-heat.

Scherer, who won one gold in Mar del Plata eight years ago, four more in Winnipeg in 1999 and another in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay earlier this week, said his sights were now on the Olympics next year.

The U.S. compensated by winning four of the five remaining swimming finals on Friday, Canada’s Joanne Malar interrupting their run with victory in the women’s 200 metres medley.

The American women’s team set a games record as they finished the 4x100 metres relay in four minutes 05.92 seconds and Michael Raab also set a games record in the 200 metres butterfly, clocking 1:57.33.

Results

Swimming

Women’s 200 metres individual medley 1. Joanne Malar (Canada) 2:15.93 2. Corrie Clark (U.S.) 2:16.78 3. Laura Davis (U.S.) 2:17.33

Men’s 200 metres butterfly 1. Michael Raab (U.S.) 1:57.33 2. Kaio Almeida (Brazil) 1:58.10 3. Pedro Monteiro (Brazil) 1:59.38

Men’s 100 metres backstroke 1. Peter Marshall (U.S.) 55.52 2. George Bovell (Trinidad) 55.81 3. Jayme Cramer (U.S.) 55.88

Women’s 800 metres freestyle 1. Morgan Claire Hentzen (U.S.) 8:36.54 2. Rachael Burke (U.S.) 8.37.61 3. Kristel Kobrich (Chile) 8:43.90

Men’s 50 metres freestyle 1. Fernando Scherer (Brazil) 22.40 2. Jose Meolans (Argentina) 22.42 3. Gary Hall (U.S.) 22.43

Women’s 4x100 metres medley relay 1. U.S. 4:05.92 2. Canada 4:13.72 3. Mexico 4:18.04

Cycling

Men’s sprint

Final Barry Forde (Barbados) - gold Leonardo Narvaez (Colombia) - silver Guideon Massie (U.S.) - bronze

Women’s sprint Tanya Lindenmuth (U.S.) - gold Daniela Larrieal (Venezuela) - silver Christine Witte (U.S.) - bronze

Men’s team sprint Cuba - gold Colombia - silver Venezuela - bronze

Men’s madison 1. Juan Curuchet and Walter Perez (Argentina) 20 points 2. Leonardo Duque and Alexander Gonzalez (Colombia) 11 3. Colby Pearce and James Carney (U.S.) 8

Soccer

Bronze medal match Colombia 0 Mexico 0 (Mexico win 5-4 on penalties)

Final Brazil 0 Argentina 1

Women’s soccer

Final Brazil 2 Canada 1 (Score at 90 minutes: 1-1. Brazil win on golden goal in extra time)

Boxing finals

Light flyweight Yan Bartelemy (Cuba) bt Carlos Tamara (Colombia) 15-6 Bronze - Raul Castaneda (Mexico) and Jefferson Perez (Venezuela)

Bantamweight Guillermo Rigondeaux (Cuba) bt Abnar Mares (Mexico) 17-7 Bronze - Andrew Kooner (Canada) and Johny Perez (Colombia)

Lightweight Mario Kindelan (Cuba) bt Alexander de Jesus (Puerto Rico) 22-2 Bronze - Felix Diaz (Dominican Republic) and Francisco Javier Vargas (Mexico)

Super welterweight Lorenzo Aragon (Cuba) bt Juan Jamal MacPherson (U.S.) 30-11 Bronze - Euris Gonzalez (Dominican Republic) and Alfredo Angulo Lopez (Mexico)

Light heavyweight Ramiro Goben (Mexico) bt Yoan Pablo Hernandez (Cuba) 37-20 Bronze - Argenis Casimiro (Dominican Republic) and Edgar Munoz Mata (Venezuela)

Super heavyweight Jason Estrada (U.S.) bt Michael Lopez Nunez (Cuba) 14-6 Bronze - Sebastian Ceballo (Argentina) and Victor Biasbal (Puerto Rico)

Badminton

Women’s singles final Nigella Saunders (Jamaica) bt Anna Rice (Canada) 11-7 3-11 11-8

Bronze medals - Lorena Blanco (Peru), Sandra Jimeno (Peru)

Mixed doubles final Philippe Bourret and Julien Denyse (Canada) bt Mike Beres and Jody Patrick (Canada) 7-15 15-13 15-12

Bronze medals - Rajiv Kumar Rai and Mesine Mangkalakiri (U.S.), Charles Pyne and Nigella Saunders (Jamaica) - - - -

Men’s volleyball

Bronze medal match United States bt Brazil 25-23 25-17 25-20

Final Venezuela bt Cuba 25-23 25-18 25-20

Weightlifting

Women’s 69 kilos 1. Tulia Angela Medina (Colombia) 237.5 points 2. Eva Maria Dimas (El Salvador) 210.0 3. Miosotis Heredia (Dominican Republic) 207.5

Men’s 94 kilos 1. Julio Luna (Venezuela) 395.0 2. Dario Lecman (Argentina) 375.0 3. Jairo Cossio (Colombia) 365.0

Women’s 75 kilos 1. Wando Rijo (Dominican Republic) 237.5 2. Nora Koppel (Argentina) 225.0 3. Raquel Lopez (Venezuela) 222.5

Synchronised swimming 1. U.S. 97.000 points 2. Canada 96.416 3. Brazil 91.166

Squash

Men’s team Canada - gold Brazil - silver Argentina - bronze Mexico - bronze

Women’s team U.S. - gold Brazil - silver Argentina - bronze Mexico - bronze.—Reuters