PAN AM GAMES ROUNDUP : Canadian Rower Banned Over Drug Test

Silken Laumann, a Canadian gold medalist in rowing, tested positive for ephedrine, a banned substance known well by Argentines, at the Pan Am Games Wednesday.

Laumann, one of Canada’s premier athletes, failed the test Sunday, a games official said.

Ephedrine, a stimulant often found in over-the-counter cold medications, was discovered in Diego Maradona’s urine test during the World Cup. The Argentine soccer star was banned from the rest of the tournament and from playing for 15 months.

Laumann won a gold medal in single sculls and another in quadruple sculls, which will be taken away.

Laumann has returned to Canada.

One American and four Cubans moved into the boxing finals Wednesday.

Lamon Brewster of Los Angeles stopped Moises Rolon of Puerto Rico with a devastating left hook in the second round to earn a spot in the heavyweight finals. Felix Savon of Cuba, the four-time world champion, stopped Santiago Palavecino of Argentina in the first round of their semifinal fight.

Americans Ronald Simms and Albert Guardado lost to Cubans and will earn bronze medals.

Debbie Doom of Pasadena threw the third perfect game of her Pan Am softball career. The U.S. women ended the round-robin portion of the competition with an 11-0 victory over Argentina.

The CBA players representing the United States in basketball beat Uruguay, 104-96, in overtime to even their record at 2-2. That assured the U.S. team a spot in the medals round when Brazil beat Mexico, 125-75.

Through Wednesday, the United States had 350 medals, 141 gold. The Americans are 19 short of the total medals record they set in Indianapolis in 1987.

The U.S. baseball team had its final game canceled by rain. St. John’s left for home 0-6, the worst Pan Am showing in the sport for an American squad.