Team BC climbed the podium 10 times on Thursday, bringing home one gold, five silver and four bronze medals at the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
In the gymnastics event finals, Aaron Mah of Vancouver and Shallon Olsen combined for five medals for Team BC. Mah won gold in the men’s floor exercise and silver in men’s horizontal bars. Surrey’s Olsen won three medals: two silvers – vault and floor exercise – and a bronze in uneven bars.
“I was a bit tired today going into our third day of competition but I was confident that I could medal in a few events,” said Mah. “I knew what I had to do and I am proud that I hit all my routines. Consistency is so important so to hit all my routines three days in a row was great.”
Olsen qualified for all four female event finals after a very strong showing in the first night of competition.
“It was like another all around competition for me and I knew I had to hit all four events today,” she said. “It was great to have the crowd here but I didn’t let it distract me I really took the cheering to motivate me. I am relieved that it is all done but I have really enjoyed getting to know all of the other gymnasts as well as the other athletes.”
In Fort St. John, the site of the long track speed skating events, Team BC’s women earned two silver and two bronze medals. Carolina Hiller, Prince George, took silver in the 1000m long track and in the mass start event. Sara Spence, Kamloops, was third in 1000m and mass start.
Hiller skated a personal best time in the 1000m, taking a full two seconds off her previous record. “It was awesome,” she said. “I went out there and I left it all on the ice.”
Hiller credits the support from the crowd as the reason she shattered her personal best. “I was a little surprised I skated so fast,” she said. “My previous time was recorded in Calgary and that ice is faster. I was really shocked and really happy – it hasn’t really sunk in yet but the crowd and community and my teammates were so awesome cheering me on. My coaches really believed in me and that helped a lot.”
In the mass start event, Hiller stuck to her strategy throughout the chaotic and unpredictable race.
“You have no idea what other teams are going to do in the mass start so that makes it hard,” she said. “It’s eight laps but it goes by very fast. I planned on staying in the top five leaders during the race so that I would be in a good position to push to the finish. With two laps to go Quebec started picking up speed so I made sure I went with them. I managed get in between some of their skaters and split them up. Sara stayed right behind me and we did it.”
Langley’s Jessica Auton took bronze in the women’s air pistol target shooting finals. Though not a stranger to intense competition – Auton has a junior national championship under her belt – the 18-year-old from Langley battled nerves in the final round of Canada Winter Games competition.
“I was doing really well early on and my mental state was really good but then as we moved into the final round and they started announcing the people who were eliminated, I let that get to me a little bit and got nervous.”
Auton said she put a little bit more pressure on herself for these Games but after some deep breathing and positive self-talk, she calmed down and shot her way to the bronze medal.
“It felt really good,” she said. “I actually cried, and I never cry. There was just a lot of happiness and all of that emotion and stress of the competition was just leaving my body.”
The Team BC curlers were up against Manitoba in the semi final match. They fell behind early and then rallied but came up short and Manitoba took the games 6-5.
The B.C. ringette team was solid today with a big overtime win against Saskatchewan 7-6. In women’s hockey, B.C. beat New Brunswick by a score of 4-1. B.C.'s wheelchair baskeball team also won 53-38 over Nova Scotia.
A gold medal for medical
With the fluctuations in weather and over 3,300 athletes, coaches, and managers from every province and territory, competing in 19 different sports, it is more important than ever to stay healthy. Each Mission Staff team is equipped with a medical professional to help with everyday support of the athletes health, as well as manage any injuries, should the occur.
Team BC is fortunate to have Paul Dwyer as our Team BC Medical Manager, who is a Certified Athletic Therapist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Paul supports the team in numerous ways – here are the highlights, so you know when to call on him.
During Games:
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Liaison between the athletes, coaches and support staff and the host medical services.
- Guide athletes and coaches through the use of Games medical services.
- Assist coaches and support staff with athlete care, allowing coaches to remain focused on coaching tasks.
- Support athletes and coaches during potential injuries, giving guidance, education and recommendations.
- Promote safe and ethical use of medications in accordance with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport Guidelines
Pre-Games:
- Facilitate CCES Anti-Doping Education, Medical and Performance Services, medical forms review, provide educational resources for athletes and coaches on regarding injury prevention and care.
To contact Paul directly, e-mail him at pauld@sportmedbc.com
The Cultural Games - ColdSnap
No Games is ever complete without a robust cultural and music festival. The festival here in Prince George runs the length of the Games from Feb. 13 to Mar. 1, 2015 and it will be the largest multi-cultural event ever to be hosted in northern B.C.
Already in full swing, it has over 60 music, theatre and visual artist groups performing; featuring Juno and Peak Performance Project winners. Featuring artists from every province and territory, including Prince George’s very own Black Spruce Bog. From theatre to funk, Aboriginal and francophone musicians, children’s artists, ColdSnap has it all.
Performing nightly from 5-9pm at BCLC Centre Stage at Canada Games Plaza, admission is free, singing voices and Games gear are welcome! Check for the complete artist line up, click here.
Tomorrow's Schedule
09:30 Speed Skating Long Track - 5000 m Male
10:00 Alpine Skiing Ski Cross Female
10:00 Biathlon 3 x 6 km Relay Female Final
10:00 Speed Skating Short Track - 3000m Points Race
11:30 Ringette BC vs AB
11:30 Speed Skating Long Track - 3000 m Female
11:40 Speed Skating Short Track - 3000m Points Race Final
12:45 Speed Skating Short Track - 3000 m Relay Final
13:00 Biathlon 3 x 7.5 km Relay Male Final
13:00 Curling Male Finals - Bronze Medal Draw BC vs Sask
13:00 Wheelchair Basketball BC vs NB
16:00 Hockey Female BC vs MB
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Unofficial results. Click here for official medal standings
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Canada Games TV: TODAY
EPISODE 3 is now live.
Don’t forget to watch it live in Games Plaza Mondays-Fridays at 5pm PST.
Watch the shows here.
TSN Coverage
As the official broadcaster TSN is providing live coverage and behind the scenes stories from the Games. See the schedule and video clips here.
Global BC Coverage
Global BC and Jay Janower have been on site in Prince George throughout the Games. See their interviews and stories here.
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