Saturday, March 4, 2023
British Columbia continued its record-breaking medal haul on Saturday, adding five medals to the table in cross country skiing, judo, and snowboard.
BC is two medals away from hitting the 100-medal mark for the first time in Canada Winter Games history, and is certain to do so on Sunday with hockey (f) and curling (m) competing in gold medal matches.
MEDAL STANDINGS* | SCHEDULE + RESULTS | TEAM BC PHOTOS | LIVESTREAM
In the overall medal standings, Ontario slipped into second place on Saturday with 105 while Quebec remained in first with 148. BC sits third with 98 total medals but is second in gold medals with a provincial-record 44. Quebec is first with 56.
The PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games Closing Ceremony will take place on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. AT and can be viewed at canadagames.ca/watch and CBC Sports online.
Team BC Today
- Alpine Skiing: BC participated in qualifying runs today for the ski cross event, which will conclude on Sunday. Two BC athletes sit in the top three heading into the finals, as Roxy Coatesworth (Golden) and Maddox Johnson (Fernie) sit first and third, respectively, after qualifying.
- Archery: Emily Yen (Vancouver) and Jameson Lu (Vancouver) finish fourth in recurve, losing in a nail-biting bronze medal match against Alberta. BC was knocked out by Manitoba in a close mixed team compound match.
- Badminton: BC beat New Brunswick in the team quarterfinals before falling to Ontario in the semifinals. The team will have a shot at bronze on Sunday when they take on Quebec at 8 a.m. PT/12:00 p.m. AT.
- Boxing: BC proved they belong with the best of the best in Canada, posting a number of fourth-place finishes in numerous weight-classes on Saturday.
- Cross Country Skiing: Kaden Baum (Salmon Arm) added a third para nordic gold medal to his case in the 5 km while one of BC’s mixed relay teams took home gold after a thrilling race on PEI’s brand new ski cross course.
- Curling (M): BC’s male curling team will play for gold after beating Alberta 6-5 in its semifinal today. BC faces Nova Scotia at noon AT (8 a.m. PT) on Sunday in the gold medal game.
- Curling (X): It’s fourth in the country for BC at the inaugural mixed doubles curling tournament. In its semifinal, BC lost a tight game against Alberta 7-6 before losing to Quebec 12-6 in the bronze medal game to finish just off the podium.
- Hockey (F): Quebec scored first but it was all British Columbia from there, as BC scored six straight to earn a 6-1 semifinal victory and advance to the gold medal game. Their opponent will be Nova Scotia, who upset Ontario 3-2 in the other semifinal. Action gets started
- Judo: Team BC came away with bronze in the male team event as judo finished a strong Games, earning seven total medals, including two gold medals, in PEI. BC finished fourth in the female event while Leanna Au (Vancouver) impressed once again, finishing her tournament undefeated.
- Snowboard: The big air event had a big outcome for BC as Billy Pelchat (Whistler) and Tosh Krauskopf (Smithers) finished with gold and bronze, respectively. The event was the last one for snowboarding at the Games.
Medallists
- Gold | Kaden Baum (Salmon Arm) | Cross Country Skiing | Para Nordic 5 km
- Gold | Cross Country Skiing | Mixed Relay | Alexandra Luxmoore (Revelstoke), Ian Mayer (West Kelowna), Marlie Molinaro (Whistler), Eamon Wilson (Vancouver)
- Gold | Billy Pelchat (Whistler) | Snowboard | Big Air - Female
- Bronze | Judo | Team Event - Male | Raphael Gaanan (Burnaby), Zach Harris (Abbotsford), Owen Hou (Delta), Austin Hubelit (Campbell River), Lowan Le Bris (Surrey), Cole Priestman (Vancouver), Nathan Thiel (Abbotsford)
- Bronze | Tosh Krauskopf (Smithers) | Snowboard | Big Air - Male
Team BC Spotlight
Team BC Talks
Chris Manhard (Whistler) | Head Coach | Cross Country Skiing | on BC’S gold medal in 4 x 5 km relay mix
“I think at the beginning of the week, we had a tough start with some sickness and injuries. But, after a rest day, the team got back on focus. It was a very good positive experience to work as a team today to come out on top. They were smart about it and raced really well as a team.”
On being at the Canada Games and earning a team gold medal
“The team relay is a new event with mixed gender. It was awesome to see. Everything is on the line for one race. It’s a team-oriented event. We end on the final note knowing we are the best province and we took the gold.”
Linda Price (Mission) | Head Coach | Archery | On the team’s performance and her experience at the Canada Games and two medals for archery
“This has been a fabulous week. This is my third Games and every time I come, it’s a greater experience. The athletes learn so much – they have so much joy. It just fills my heart every time I come. This team has been fantastic. And I’ve been thrilled with all the spectators in the venue.
Jesse Tiede (Black Creek) | Lead | Curling (M) | on 6-5 semifinal win against Alberta and going for gold on Sunday against Nova Scotia
“It feels amazing – a year of hard work, I never thought we’d make it this farl. It feels exhilarating. I’d say we just have to keep having fun.”
Bob Lee (Courtenay) | Coach | Curling (M) | on tight semifinal game against Alberta
“That was an amazing game. This is an amazing group. The calibre of the team we played is the highest in the country. Huge kudos to them, they played really well. We were fortunate that we had the last shot as that determined the game.
Hailey Armstrong (Dawson Creek)|Hockey (F) | on 6-1 semifinal win against Quebec and playing for gold against Nova Scotia on Sunday
“I am definitely on a high after that big semifinal game and having that big of a score. Everyone was rolling and the momentum is high. It’s exciting. We have a lot of energy here with this group. It’s going to be a good start.”
Adam Fenton (Port Coquitlam)| Curling (X)| on losing the bronze medal game against Quebec
“We had a pretty slow start [in the bronze medal game] but we never thought we were out. We tried to push back and claw our way back into the game. We just fell a little bit short.”
On finishing fourth at the Canada Games.
“We are really happy with our performance. We played really well. We just fell short in the last couple of games. Our goal was to make the playoffs. We can be very proud of ourselves of what we accomplished and it’s exciting to have played in the inaugural mixed doubles at the 2023 Canada Games.”
Emily Bowles (Victoria) |Curling (X) | on losing two final games to finish fourth “Both were really close games. The first one came down to the very last shot. It was an unfortunate end to the game. Then, we did our best to earn a bronze medal. We got down at the start. We got back into it. But it wasn’t quite enough at the end.”
On playing mixed doubles curling
“It’s an interesting game. It’s a lot more engaging for both players. It’s nice to be a part of each shot and everything going on. With two people, you really have to lean on each other and trust each other and you need great communication.”
Brad Fenton (Port Coquitlam)|coach| Curling (x) on finishing fourth
“We had a great week. We didn’t finish where we wanted to at the end of the week, but we gave it our all. Even though today wasn’t our best day, it was a great learning experience and a great experience overall.”
On coaching mixed doubles
“The two-person team is a very exciting game. It’s very quick with a lot of challenges and changing scores throughout the games. A lot of these kids don’t get a lot of opportunities for mixed doubles, so it’s been a great opportunity to play this discipline because it is different from the four-person game.”
Team BC Tomorrow (Sunday, March 5)
*medal opportunity | Times in AST (PST +4hrs)
*11:30 – Hockey (F) | Gold Medal Game vs NS | Credit Union Place
*12:00 – Badminton | Team Mix | Bronze Match vs QC | Chi-Wan Young Sport Centre
*12:00 – Curling (M) | Gold Medal Game vs NS | The Silver Fox Entertainment Complex
*12:15 – Alpine Skiing | Ski Cross Finals | Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park
19:30 – Closing Ceremony | Eastlink Centre, Charlottetown