Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023
Another strong day from Team BC at the PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games was highlighted by the first-ever Canada Games podium sweep in biathlon.
Team BC Today
- Biathlon: It was a historic day for biathlon as BC completed the first-ever podium sweep in the sport’s history at the Games in the 10km female individual event while adding a silver medal in the 12.5km male individual event.
- Curling (F): A 9-4 loss to Ontario sends Team Rempel into the consolation bracket, where they will play a match on Friday against the host PEI side.
- Gymnastics: Sophie Patterson (New Westminster) finished just off the podium on Thursday in the artistic gymnastics all-around event while BC finished fifth in the trampoline team mix event to close out the discipline at the Games.
- Hockey (M): BC stormed back from a 2-0 deficit against Manitoba to win 4-2 in regulation and book a spot in the semifinal on Friday. They will face off against Ontario at 7:30 p.m. AST with a spot in Saturday’s final on the line.
- Karate: Team BC added two more medals – gold and bronze – on the final day of the karate competition. BC finishes the first appearance by karate at the Canada Winter Games with 10 medals.
- Ringette: BC’s 8-1 loss to a strong Alberta side today means the blue and yellow will play for fifth place on Friday against New Brunswick.
- Speed Skating (Long): BC finished seventh in the male long pursuit and had a number of strong results in the male event 5000m and female 3000m event. The men’s team skated over 8000m on Thursday.
- Speed Skating (Short): BC had four top 20 finishes in both the male and female 500m events on Thursday. Next up is the 1000m competition on Friday.
- Squash: Both the men's and women's squash teams advanced to the championship round, which will kick off on Friday.
- Table Tennis: Three Team BC athletes – David Mandelstam (Vancouver), Zongang (Terry) Li (Langley), and Sofia Li (Burnaby) – advanced to the quarterfinals with strong performances on Thursday. Quarterfinals are set to start Friday morning.
Medallists
- Gold | Mia Rodger | Biathlon | Female 10km Individual
- Gold | Ella Crowle | Karate | Female +59kg Kumite
- Silver | Jessabelle Trelenberg | Biathlon | Female 10km Individual
- Silver | Sebastian (Tate) Solomonson | Biathlon | Male 12.5km Individual
- Bronze | Molly Caldwell | Biathlon | Female 10km Individual
- Bronze | James Joss | Karate | Male +68kg Kumite
Team BC Talks
Ella Crowle (Victoria) | Karate - Female +59kg Kumite| on winning gold after seeing her teammates win medals all week at the karate tournament
“It made me a little bit nervous seeing how well my team did. But,I feel like that has given me the courage to do what know I’m able to do. It’s been amazing and such a great experience bonding with my teammates. It’s such an honour to represent Team BC and the sport of karate. PEI has been wonderful!”
On doing her first television interview
“I was really nervous. I was just waiting by the medals. And then, they said, ‘Ella, they want to interview you for CTV.’ None of my teammates had that. I’ve never been to an event like this before. The media doesn’t really attend karate events.”
Savin Virk (Surrey) | Hockey (M) | on feeling after winning quarters against Manitoba
“I'm feeling very, very happy. It was a tough one out there. We took a lot of penalties, but we found a way to battle the adversity and this group and the character we have is awesome – off the charts.”
James Joss (Langley) | Karate - Male +68kg Kumite | on winning a bronze medal on the final day of the karate competition
“It was really exciting. It was really fun watching my teammates compete and it just made me more excited to find myself on the podium. This is the biggest event I’ve been to. I think Team BC has really trained hard for this event and we prepared well for it.”
Claire Ramsey (Kelowna)| Lead | Curling | on losing 9-4 to Ontario and moving to the consolation round.
“I really enjoyed the game, It was my best game of pool play. The other team played really well. They made so many hits and rolls. It was tough for our team as we were down eight points. It is hard to come back from that.” I have really enjoyed the Canada Games. It’s fun.”
Mia Rodger (North Vancouver) | Athlete | Biathlon | on winning gold in 10km event
“My skiing was a little rough, [I’ve been] dealing with a bit of an injury, but the snow was great and the shooting went pretty well for me too.”
Team BC Spotlight
Team BC Tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 24)
*medal opportunity | Times in AST (PST +4hrs)
Schedule subject to change. Check here for latest schedule.
*8:35am – Speed Skating (Long) | 1000m Female Final | Halifax Oval
*9:00am – Gymnastics – Artistic | Male Individual Finals (x6) | Norton Diamond Soccer Complex
9:00am – Squash (M) | Team Event vs Ontario | Championship Pool
9:00am – Ringette | Consolation Semifinal vs New Brunswick | Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre
9:20am – Speed Skating (Short) | 1000m Competition Starts (Schedule) | North Rustico Canada Games Centre
10:00am – Curling (F) | vs PEI | Placement | Silver Fox Entertainment Complex
10:00am – Table Tennis (M) | Quarterfinal – Mandelstam vs ON | PEI Convention Centre
10:00am – Table Tennis (M) | Quarterfinal – Li vs QC | PEI Convention Centre
*10:18am – Speed Skating (Long) | 1000m Male Final | Halifax Oval
10:40am – Table Tennis (F) | Quarterfinal – Li vs QC | PEI Convention Centre
11:00am – Freestyle Skiing | Moguls Qualification | Crabbe Mountain
12:00pm – Table Tennis (F) | Quarterfinal – Fan vs NWT | PEI Convention Centre
*12:04pm – Speed Skating (Long) | Mass Start Female | Halifax Oval
12:30pm – Squash (W) | Team Event vs Manitoba | Championship Pool
*12:53pm – Speed Skating (Long) | Mass Start Male | Halifax Oval
*1:00pm – Biathlon | Single Mixed Relay Final | Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park
*2:00pm – Freestyle Skiing | Moguls Final | Crabbe Mountain
*2:00pm – Gymnastics – Artistic | Female Individual Finals (x3) | Norton Diamond Soccer Complex
*3:30pm – Speed Skating (Short) 1000m Finals | North rustico Canada Games Centre
5:30pm – Squash (M) Team Event vs Quebec | Championship Pool
6:00pm – Wheelchair Basketball | Semifinal vs Manitoba | Chi-Wan Young Sport Centre
7:30pm – Hockey (M) | Semifinal vs Ontario | Eastlink Centre