Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023
It was a day of upsets for Team BC at the PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games as freestyle skiing took home a pair of gold medals in aerials and table tennis delivered bronze in mixed doubles. The trio of medals were BC’s first of the PEI Games.
Team BC Today
- Curling (W): Team Rempel kicked off the Games with a 6-5 extra-end win over the Northwest Territories. Next up for BC is a matchup with Quebec on Monday at 2:00 p.m. AST.
- Freestyle Skiing: BC won a pair of unexpected medals in the air on Sunday, as Maya Mikkelsen (Whistler) and Alex Mysko (Whistler) – two freestyle athletes who specialize in moguls – found the top of the podium in aerials.
- Hockey (M): Team BC scored four but fell to Ontario by a final score of 7-4 in their opener. Hockey will be back in action on Monday at 12:30 p.m. AST against Nova Scotia.
- Ringette: Team BC squared off against the host PEI side and dropped a close game 9-7. Grace Kemp (Surrey) had three goals to lead BC. Next up for ringette is a matchup with Saskatchewan on Monday at 12:30 p.m. AST.
- Table Tennis: A pair of BC teams faced off in the mixed doubles bronze medal game on Sunday after completing a couple upsets earlier in the day. The bronze medal for Sofia Li (Burnaby) and David Mandelstam (Vancouver) was BC’s first at the Games. Louise Fan (Burnaby) and Terry Li (Langley) finished fourth after a strong day.
Medallists
- Gold – Maya Mikkelsen | Freestyle Skiing (W) | Aerials (Results)
- Gold – Alex Mysko | Freestyle Skiing (M) | Aerials (Results)
- Bronze – Sofia Li and David Mandelstam | Table Tennis | Mixed Doubles (Results)
Team BC Talks
Maya Mikkelsen (Whistler) | Freestyle Skiing - Women’s Aerials | On winning gold in a discipline that’s not her specialty
“It’s kind of weird and kind of uncomfortable at first. It’s a little bit funny, but it was good, because everyone I was competing against is everyone I compete against in moguls. I am stoked to win”
Alex Mysko (Whistler) | Freestyle Skiing - Men’s Aerials | On winning gold
“It’s super cool, it’s super fun. This event was run under the lights on TV. It’s a 10 out of 10 experience. Winning is pretty cool, but a shout out to [late Team BC freestyle skiier] Brayden Kuroda. He won the last Games and we were going for gold for him today.”
David Mandelstam (Vancouver) | Table Tennis - Mixed Doubles | On winning bronze
“It feels great. It was really tough to compete with all the different provinces. We even had to compete with our own Team BC team for the third and fourth place. It was very tough. We worked hard.”
Sofia Li (Burnaby) | Table Tennis - Mixed Doubles | on winning bronze and playing another Team BC duo for the medal
“It was difficult mentally. For sure, we were fighting for a medal and we all had been fighting for this moment. So, we all put forward our best. We were fighting for this moment. This is a surprise. I have never had a medal at this level before.”
Ivy Liao (Vancouver) | Table Tennis, Team Manager | On having two BC teams play for bronze
“Both of our mixed doubles pairs had big upsets in the quarter final round, so they could get to the semifinals in the first place. Our bronze medal team was seeded fifth in the competition and our fourth place team was seeded sixth. As team manager, I am so proud of them. They’ve had a long day. It’s been amazing.”
Hannah Rempel (Kelowna) | Skip | Women’s Curling | On the 6-5 extra-end win over Team NWT in her first game in PEI
“There was a little bit of pre-games jitters. But, as soon as we got onto the ice, we thought, this is just curling. we like curling, we can do this.”
Team BC Spotlight
Team BC Tomorrow (Monday, Feb 20)
*medal opportunity | Times in AST (PST +4hrs)
9:00am – Karate | Kata Preliminary | Canada Games Multi-Sport Dome
9:00am – Squash (M) | Individual (Jacob Lin) | Preliminary | Eastlink Centre
9:40am – Squash (M) | Individual (Roman Bicknell) | Preliminary | Eastlink Centre
9:50am – Speed Skating (Short) | 1500m Qualifications | North Rustico Canada Games Centre
*10:00am – Biathlon (W) | 6km Sprint | Final | Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park at Brookvale
*10:00am – Biathlon (M) | 7.5km Sprint | Final | Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park at Brookvale
10:00am – Table Tennis | Doubles Competition Starts | PEI Convention Centre
10:20am – Squash (F) | Individual (Ocean Ma) | Preliminary | Eastlink Centre
11:00am – Gymnastics (Artistic) | Team Event Male pt. 1 | Norton Diamond Soccer Complex
11:00am – Squash (F) | Individual (Spring Ma) | Preliminary | Eastlink Centre
11:15am – Gymnastics (Trampoline) | Synchro Female | Preliminary | Eastlink Centre
11:20am – Speed Skating (Short) | 1500m Quarterfinals | North Rustico Canada Games Centre
*12:00pm – Karate | Kata Finals | Canada Games Multi-Sport Dome
12:30pm – Ringette | vs Saskatchewan | Preliminary | Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre
12:30pm – Hockey (M) | vs Nova Scotia | Preliminary | Credit Union Place
1:00pm – Freestyle Skiing | Slopestyle Qualification | Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park at Brookvale
1:00pm – Table Tennis | Doubles Medal Matches | PEI Convention Centre
2:00pm – Curling (F) | vs Quebec | Preliminary | The Silver Fox Entertainment Complex
2:30pm – Speed Skating (Short) | 500m Qualification | North Rustico Canada Games Centre
3:00pm – Gymnastics (Trampoline) | Synchro Male | Preliminary | Eastlink Centre
*4:00pm – Freestyle Skiing | Slopestyle Final | Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park at Brookvale
4:00pm – Gymnastics (Artistic) | Team Event Male pt. 2 | Norton Diamond Soccer Complex
4:30pm – Table Tennis | Team Competition | Preliminary | PEI Convention Centre
6:00pm – Wheelchair Basketball | vs Manitoba | Preliminary | Chi-Wan Young Sport Centre
*6:15pm – Gymnastics (Trampoline) | Synchro Female | Final Routine | Eastlink Centre
*6:45pm – Gymnastics (Trampoline) | Synchro Male | Final Routine | Eastlink Centre