Roundup: Ticket sales speed up as Canada performs strong at Pan Am Games

Ticket sales for Toronto 2015 Pan American Games have been boosted by the strong performance of the host country, which racked up 64 medals including 25 gold and retained the lead after four days of competition.

Organizers said more than 900,000 tickets have been sold for the multi-sport event taking place in Toronto and surrounding communities. Ticket sales had initially been somewhat of a concern as only about 800,000 of 1.4 million tickets had been sold before the Games officially began last Friday.

But as the event entered its first full week, organizers said nearly 25,000 tickets were sold on Monday, a record-breaking figure for a single day of sales. Ticket sales are expected to cover about 40 million Canadian dollars of the Games' 2.5 billion budget, with the rest coming from the federal, provincial and local governments.

Saad Rafi, CEO of the Toronto 2015 organizing committee, said they fully expect to sell at least a million tickets before the Games are done. He said walk-up sales -- where spectators purchase their tickets at kiosks rather than online -- have been significant since the Games began.

In competition, Tuesday was another strong day for Canada in and on the water. Rowers, paddlers and swimmers led the way as Canada racked up 23 medals on the fourth full day of the Pan Am Games.

Winnipeg's Chantal van Landeghem beat decorated American swimmer Natalie Coughlin to win the gold medal in the women's 100-meter freestyle event. Van Landeghem claimed Canada's first swimming medal of the Games in 53.83 seconds to set a new Pan Am record.

Canada added another gold when Montreal's Audrey Lacroix won the women's 200-meter butterfly in two minutes 7.68 seconds. The women's 4x100m freestyle relay team also won for Canada. After winning the gold in the relay, van Landeghem praised the hometown crowd for their support.

Earlier in the day, in St. Catharines Canada captured three gold medals in the rowing event. Carling Zeeman won the women's single sculls race, finishing more than seven seconds ahead of her closest competitor.

It was also another multi-medal day for Canada's paddlers competing a few kilometers down the highway at the Welland Flatwater Centre. The host country's canoeists and kayakers won five medals Tuesday, including two gold, giving them 10 overall in sprint events.

Mark De Jonge captured gold in the K-1 200 meters, and has his sights set on the top of the medal podium at next year's Rio Olympics.

"We were training pretty hard last week and didn't have that taper going into this as much as we would for worlds," de Jonge said. "But you just have to deal with it, the long-term goal is qualifying for the Olympics, and ultimately win a gold medal at the Olympics."

Over the rest of the week, steady ticket sales are anticipated as competitions in popular sports like basketball, soccer, baseball and athletics get underway, organizers said, noting that crowds at events so far have been very supportive of all athletes.

"They're singing anthems loud and proud and they're showing up in droves and there are flags of every color imaginable," Rafi said. "They clearly want to see top athletes in pursuit for a medal."

Meanwhile, Toronto has set up 10 public viewing sites for the Games across the city. Large screens have been set up at community centers, public libraries and other venues to broadcast the events. "Toronto is coming alive with Pan Am Games excitement," Mayor John Tory said.

The Games, the largest international multi-sport event ever held in Canada, run until July 26. Endi