SHERBROOKE, QC – Coming off yesterday’s silver medal win in the men’s K-1 500m, Brian Malfesi (Maple Ridge) added to his haul today, winning Team BC’s first gold medal of week two at the Canada Games.
The 19-year old paddled his way to the top of the podium, edging out Nova Scotia’s Marshall Hughes and Alberta’s Ben Kendall to take gold in the men’s K-1 1000m event at Lac des Nations.
“I just tried to stay relaxed and focus on what I could do to stay relaxed,” said Malfesi after the race. “There was a lot of talent in this race and the only way I was going to succeed was to focus on my own performance.”
Team mate Keiffer Johnson (Kamloops), also found the podium for the second time this week, winning bronze in the men’s C-1 200m race. Nova Scotia’s Tom Hall took silver and Quebec’s Maxim Poulin was awarded gold.
It was a good day for athletics with Jessye Brockway (Mill Bay) winning her second medal at these Games. The para thrower, who made history yesterday by earning bronze in the women’s para shot put inaugural event, repeated her feat by taking bronze in the the women’s para discus competition.
Decathlete Rostam Turner (Kelowna) claimed bronze after an outstanding performance over the past two days. As the evening continued the rain started to come down hard, making for an exciting steeplechase final and one that was well suited to BC competitors. Regan Yee (South Hazelton) claimed bronze in the women's 2000m steeplechase while Fiona Benson (Peace River) finished 8th.
In the men's 3000m steeplechase, Justin Kent (Surrey) captured the bronze medal with Patrick Psotka (Victoria) close behind in 4th. Tomorrow is a practice day for Team BC athletics and finals are scheduled in a number of events on Thursday and Friday.
After a day of outstanding competition at the fencing venue, Team BC’s Vivien Cao (Vancouver) and Emma vonDadelszen (Vancouver) fenced their way into the final. In the women’s epee individual semi-final, Cao defeated Andrée-Anne Paquet of Quebec, while vonDadelszen won her battle against Saskatchewan’s Bdhanya Ramaswami. Team BC is guaranteed to medal in this event as both ladies take each other on in a BC vs. BC final to be held on Saturday, August 17th.
It was also a good day for fencer Shaul Gordon (Richmond) who will also be going for gold this weekend. The 19-year old will be taking on Quebec’s Farès Arfa in the men’s Sabre final which will also be held on Saturday.
“I know the guy and we have done quite a few competitions together,” said Gordon. “I knew that he is a good fencer and that it was likely that we faced each other in the final. We’re pretty even when we fence so it should be a good match. I have to be ready and I’ll have to change a few things before because we know each other pretty well. We’ll see how it goes.”
Team BC stands in fourth place overall in medal standings with a total of 71 medals – 22 gold, 19 silver and 30 bronze.
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About Team BC
Every four years the Province of British Columbia assembles a team of athletes, coaches, managers and mission staff to represent the province at Canada's premiere multi-sport events - the Canada Winter Games, the Canada Summer Games and the Western Canada Summer Games. Representing the best in BC, they are known as Team BC. The Team BC program is more than British Columbia's best; it is also about building excellence. For some athletes, the Canada Games are a goal along the way to what they hope will be success in sport at major multi-sport Games including Olympic and Paralympic Games.
About the Canada Games
The Canada Games are a national multi-sport competition with participation from every province and territory in Canada. The Games are held every two years, alternating between winter and summer. The 2013 Canada Summer Games will be held August 2 – 17, 2013 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, bringing together approximately 4,500 athletes who will be competing in 20 disciplines, along with coaches, managers and officials from coast to coast.
For more information on Team BC, including latest results, athlete profiles and calendar of upcoming events, visit www.teambc.org. High resolution images are available for download through flickr.com or directly on Team BC’s website.
Team BC Media Contact in Sherbrooke:
Tina Sarazin
Media Manager, Team BC
Mobile: 778-989-8462
tinasarazin@gmail.com