As The Camera went to press yesterday, the coach of the Cuban rowing team said four rowers defected from the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games and fled to the U.S.

But Games officials said they weren’t aware of the defections.

Juan Carlos said Leosmel Ramos, Wilber Turro, Manuel Suarez and Orlando Sotolongo left the team from the rowing venue in St. Catharines, about 25 km from the nearest border crossing to the U.S.

Ramos and Turro dropped out before the regatta began on Saturday, while Suarez and Sotolongo were in earlier races and then withdrew.

Pan Am officials said their protocol for dealing with defections includes working with the Games’ integrated security unit and the affected country’s national Olympic committee.