Tuesday was a golden day for three Colorado athletes at the Pan American Games.
Pentathlete Eli Bremer of Monument, wrestler Brad Vering of Colorado Springs and former ThunderRidge High School basketball star Emily Fox won Pan Am gold medals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Bremer earned the U.S. team a spot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics by winning the modern pentathlon with 5,380 points.
Bremer won the swimming event and was fourth in fencing, fueling his overall victory. He finished seventh in the run, eighth in equestrian and 10th in shooting.
Vering won the 185-pound class in Greco-Roman wrestling by defeating Eddy Bartolozzy of Venezuela.
In the championship game of women’s basketball, Team USA rallied to defeat Brazil 79-66 before a crowd of 13,200 and finish the tournament 5-0.
Made up of college players, Team USA outscored Brazil 30-13 in the fourth quarter – including a 16-8 run to close the game – to win Pan Am gold for the first time since 1987 in Indianapolis.
Fox, who scored a game-high 18 points in Team USA’s quarterfinal win over Argentina, was scoreless in the title game. The 5-foot-9 guard will be a junior at Minnesota next season.
Fox averaged 6.3 points in the tournament. She averaged 12.9 for Minnesota last season.
