Ticket sales hit 1 million as Canada follows close behind U.S. at Pan Am Games

Organizers said Sunday that ticket sales for Toronto 2015 Pan American Games have eclipsed one million, nine days after the Games opening, while Canada tried to keep up with the United States in medal rank after being unseated from atop on Saturday.

"The numbers speak for themselves," said Toronto 2015 CEO Saad Rafi. "With one million tickets sold and millions of Canadians tuning into the Games, there's no doubt that Toronto and the region have embraced these once-in-a-lifetime Games."

Ticket sales have jumped by more than 300,000 since the opening ceremonies on July 10, organizers said in a news release. Roughly 16 million Canadians, or 46 percent of the population, have tuned in to watch the multi-sport event on CBC or its partners as of July 16, according to the release.

The host nation's strong performance has helped the ticket sales. Canada remained on top of the medal counts for the first whole week. As of Sunday night, the U.S. led with 59 gold and 160 medals in total, closely followed by Canada with 54 gold and 142 in total.

Brazil is at the third with 30 gold and 99 overall medals.

On Sunday, a botched pick off and two American errors in the bottom of the 10th led to two runs as Canada's men's baseball team edged the United States 7-6 to defend its Pan Am baseball title.

U.S. pitcher David Huff tried to pick off Pete Orr at first base, but his throw went into right field to score Skyler Stromsmoe. The right-fielder's throw to third then went wide, allowing Orr to score the winning run as the Canadians beat the Americans for Pan Am gold for the second straight Games.

In the trampoline event, Canada swept the gold medals. Toronto's Rosie MacLennan defended the women's title and Karen Cockburn of Stouffville, Ontario, earned the bronze. MacLennan, the reigning Olympic champion, won the Pan Am title four years ago in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Later in the evening at the Toronto Coliseum, Keegan Soehn of Red Deer, Alberta, won gold in the men's competition. American Steven Gluckstein won silver and Colombia's Angel Hernandez took the bronze.

Earlier, Canadian Evan Dunfee overcame stifling heat and humidity to capture gold in the men's 20-kilometer race walk. The Richmond, B.C., native finished in one hour 23 minutes six seconds while fellow Canadian Inaki Gomez was second in 1:24:25.

In Milton, Canada has dominated the track cycling events, winning six gold, two silver and two bronze.

Monique Sullivan won the all-Canadian final in the women's sprint in track cycling. Sullivan defeated fellow Calgary cyclist Kate O' Brien 2-0 in the best-of-three final to give Canada a sweep of the top two medals in the event on the final day of the track cycling competition, dubbed Super Sunday.

Sullivan is the first Canadian cyclist to win three gold medals at a Pan Am Games. She won the women's keirin and joined with O' Brien to capture the women's team sprint earlier in the week.

In the canoe/kayak slalom competition Canada took home four medals including gold from Jazmyne Denhollander, of Chilliwack, B.C., in the women's K-1 event.

Heading into Week 2, Canada can expect more medals, especially in track and field - based both on the sheer number of medals available and the strength of the squad.

The Canadian women will take on the United States in the gold-medal final on Monday at 8:45 p.m. at Ryerson Athletic Centre.

Before the Games kicked off, ticket sales sat around 750,000 which was a low figure compared to the roughly 1.2 million that were available. This prompted some critics to express concerns about public apathy to the Games, paving the way for Toronto Mayor John Tory to urge the city to be more enthusiastic about the event.

Organizers predicted last December that 250,000 people would visit the province to attend the Games.

Although many events are sold out, Rafi said some last-minute tickets may become available closer to the event dates.

Pan Am ticket sales are expected to garner 40 million Canadian dollars for the Games, with sponsorships and government subsidies expected to help cover the remaining 2.5-billion price tag of the event.

According to organizers, Toronto 2015 has garnered 534,000 social media mentions with 1.82 billion impressions internationally. The Games have also been a trending topic worldwide at times. The official app has been downloaded more than 135,000 times and the Games' website has received 7.2 million hits.

The Pan Am Games conclude next Sunday and will be followed by the Parapan Am Games, which begin August 7. Endi