The U.S. canoe team of Ian and Gavin Ross finished in fourth place behind Cuba, Canada and Mexico in Thursday’s senior two-man canoe (C2) 1,000-meter final at the Pan American Championships held at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville.

The pair, who train at the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club in Gainesville, needed a strong finish in the Olympic qualifier to book a spot on the national team for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August.

Ian and Gavin Ross finished with a time of 3 minutes, 54.11 seconds, behind first-place Cuba (Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez/Serguey Torres Madrigal, 3:31.69), second-place Canada (Paul Bryant/Roland Varga, 3:36.92) and third-place Mexico (Jose Everardo Cristobal Quirino/Guillermo Quirino Medrano, 3:37.55).

“We knew the Cubans would tear out of the gate and make it hard for us,” said Ian. “It’s their M.O. to go out and do that and see if they can hold out. But props to them, they won it. We gave it everything.”

The Cubans, who are now going to the 2016 Summer Games, quickly took the lead out of the starting blocks, then stretched their lead to nearly two lengths by the time they crossed the finish line to a cheering crowd.

Ian and Gavin were unable to keep up with the pace of the Canadian and Mexican teams, who decided the second and third place finishes by less than a second.

Both competitors said they were looking forward to preparing for the 2020 Summer Games, where the pair expect themselves to be four years older and wiser. 

“It was the hardest start possible,” said Gavin. “Winning gold is important, but the kids here have it better than most in the U.S. We’ll be working hard to get back to this level.”

Ian Ross will return to the lake 9:10 a.m. tomorrow when he competes in the senior one-man canoe (C1) 1,000 final.

Meanwhile, Chris Miller will compete in the senior one-man kayak (K1) 1,000 final at 9 a.m.

Miller and Stanton Collins will compete in the senior two-man kayak (K2) 1,000 final at 11:15 a.m. tomorrow, and Farran Smith and Sammie Barlow will tackle the senior two-woman kayak (K2) 500 final at 11:50 a.m.

JUNIOR EVENTS: Argentina’s team of Agustin Rodriguez/Joaquin Malaval took first place in the junior two-man kayak (K2) 1000M final, while Uruguay’s Matias Otero and Julian Cabrera earned second place and Mexico’s team of Oscar Reyes Garcia/Carlos Madrigal Romero took third.

Brazil’s team of Jacky Jamael Nascimento Godmann/Milton Luz De Oliveira took first place in the junior two-man canoe (C2) 1,000 final, while Canada’s Daniel MacDonald and Foster Salpeter earned second place and Chile’s team of Joaquin Cataldo/Nicolas Vergara earned third.

Brazil’s team of Bruna Rodrigues/Mirian De Sousa Barbosa earned first place in the junior two-woman kayak (K2) 500 final, Canada’s team of Emma Mitchell/Jane Girgulis earned second and Argentina’s Constanza Gasparoni/Victoria Damonte took third.

Argentina’s Agustin Rodriguez took first place in the junior one-man kayak (K1) 1,000 final, Brazil’s Mateus Henrique Silva Moia took second place and Uruguay’s Julian Cabrera earned third place.

Team USA’s Owen Farley-Klacik took sixth place, with a time of 3:48.75.

Mexico’s Jorge Gutierrez Paz picked up first place in the junior one-man canoe (C1) 1,000 final, Brazil’s Jacky Jamael Nascimento Godmann took second place and Canada’s Lucas Turnbull came in third place.

American Ryan Grady finished in fifth place with a time of 4:09.99.

Argentina’s Layla Micaela Gonzalez picked up first place in the junior one-woman kayak (K1) 500 final, Brazil’s Mirian De Sousa Barbosa earned second place and Mexico’s Andrew Rocha Donias took third.

Team USA’s Mira Corrao picked up sixth place, with a time of 2:06.48.

Mexico’s Ada Rosamaria Gonzalez Ibarra earned first place in the junior one-woman canoe (C1) 500 final, Chile’s Barbara Jara picked up second place and Canada’s Tess Peterman took third place.