Claire Donahue in the 100 meters butterfly and the 4x100 meters relay team both broke Pan American Games records twice as the United States dominated in the pool Saturday. They did not have it entirely their way, though, with Games record holder Thiago Perreira of Brazil retaining his 400 medley title ahead of Americans Connor Dwyer and Robert Margalis. Donahue broke the games record in the morning heats and again in the final in a time of 58.73 seconds. The world record of 56.06 was set by Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom in July 2009. The relay team of Madison Kennedy, Elizabeth Pelton, Amanda Kendall and Erika Erndl won gold in three minutes 40.66 seconds, some nine seconds outside the world record held by the Netherlands since 2009. Brazil were second and Canada third. Julia Elizabeth Smit won the women's 400m medley and Gipson Houching the men's 400m freestyle for two more US gold medals on day one. The first gold medal of the games went to American Heather Irmiger in mountain biking cross country at Tapalpa, a two-hour drive into hills outside this western city. There was an upset in the women's modern pentathlon. Defending champion Brazilian Yane Marques was dominant in the early disciplines but American Margaux Isaksen took charge in the combined event that closed the competition to win with 5,356 points to 5,260 and book her place in the London Olympic Games next year. Ivette Gonda won Canada's first gold medal in the 46-49 kilo Taekwondo category, beating Peru's Lizbeth Canseco in the final. Puerto Rico's Gabriel Mercedes, Olympic silver medallist in Beijing in 2008, beat home hope Damian Villa in the men's 54-57 kg class to retain his title.
