Canadian shot putter Mitton, runner Philibert-Thiboutot capture Pan Am golds

Charles Philibert-Thiboutot dived for a finish line for the first time in his career to gain a Pan American Games gold medal Thursday.

The Quebec City runner tumbled onto the Estadio Nacional track while crossing the finish line just two hundredths of a second faster than teammate Rob Heppenstall of Hamilton in the men's 1,500 metres.

"I saw that Rob was leading and I had a moment of 'Yes, we're going to go one-two' and then I remembered, 'I really want this damn gold. I really want it so bad,"' Philibert-Thiboutot said.

"So I just dove at the line. I never had before."

WATCH l Philibert-Thiboutot, Heppenstall finish 1-2 in men's 1,500m:

The 32-year-old captured Canada's first track and field gold medal at these Games although Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, N.S., followed minutes later with her victory in women's shot put.

Julie-Anne Staehli of Lucknow, Ont., was a bronze medallist in the women's 5,000 metres to make it a four-medal Thursday for Canada's track team.

Philibert-Thiboutot and Mitton also gave the Canadian team its 36th and 37th gold medals overall, surpassing Canada's total of 35 won at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.

WATCH l Mitton wins women's shot put gold:

Steppenhall surged from mid-pack to front-runner over the final 150 metres of the 1,500 with a crush of competitors on his heels.

"It's been a super-hard year for me. I went through this whole year without any sponsorship," Steppenhall. "Kind of living paycheque to paycheque really within the sport.

Mitton dominated women's shot put from the outset with a throw of 18.90 metres in the first round. The 27-year-old upgraded to 19.19 in the fifth and sixth rounds, while none of her competitors threw over 18.

World and Olympic champ Chase Ealey of the United States. did not compete in Santiago.

The Pan Am Games come at the end of a long season for Mitton, who earned world championship silver and finished second in the international Diamond League series. Early November would normally be the off-season for the thrower.