Canada wins Pan Am Games rowing gold in women's 8 by nearly 4 seconds over U.S.

Canada won gold in the women's eight rowing event to open Tuesday's competition at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile.

Kendra Hartley (Calgary), Olivia McMurray (Red Deer, Alta.), Ailzee Brien (Sainte-Agathe, Que.), Parker Illingworth (Seattle), Abby Spiers (Victoria), Shaye De Paiva (Calgary), Abigail Dent (Kenora, Ont.), Leia Till (Potomac, Md.) and coxswain Kristen Kit (St. Catharines, Ont.) led at all 500-metre checkpoints and finished the 2,000m race in six minutes 10.7 seconds.

The United States was second in 6:14.17 and host Chile was third in 6:17.78.

It was Canada's third rowing medal of the Games. Dent and McMurray took silver in women's coxless pair and Hartley, Illingworth, Brien and De Paiva earned bronze in women's quadruple sculls on Monday.

Kit was coxswain when Canada won women's eight gold for the first time in 29 years at the Tokyo Games. She will also cox Canada's boat in the mixed eight A final Wednesday.