Games-May gets landmark Pan Am Games medal but US misses Olympic spot

SANTIAGO : Bill May became the first male to win a medal in artistic swimming at the Pan American Games on Friday, but the 44-year-old American trailblazer will have to wait a bit longer to see if he can make the same history at the Paris Olympics.

With only the winner of the team gold securing a quota spot for the Paris Games, the United States came up just short with Mexico taking top spot on the podium with an aggregate score of 786.2546 (combining marks for the technical, free and acrobatic swims), just .6638 ahead of the Americans.

May and his U.S. teammates will now pin their Olympic hopes on next year's world championships in Doha where they can secure a quota spot with a top five finish.

"I'm unbelievably proud. There is no doubt this will make us stronger. We will be in Doha, and we will be at the 2024 Olympic Games," U.S. coach Andrea Fuentes said.

Mexico also played the spoiler role in the women's soccer gold medal match, beating Chile 1-0 on a first-half goal from Rebeca Bernal.

It was a brave effort from the hosts who were forced to play the final without first choice goalkeeper Christiane Endler and backup Antonia Canales, who were required to return to their club teams in Europe because the championship match was being played outside the international window.

Striker Maria Jose Urrutia stepped up to take on keeper duties for Chile and played with grit but could not get her glove on Bernal's 30th minute free kick that flew into the top right corner.

Argentina heaped more disappointment on the host, taking a 3-1 in the men's field hockey gold.

On the penultimate day of track and field action there were eight gold up for grabs, with Brazil and Cuba each winning two. But it was Venezuela's Joselyn Brea taking the