Halifax, NS (February 16, 2011) -- Team BC skiers took two spots on the podiums in both the men's and the women's Aerials competition Wednesday at the 2011 Canada Winter Games.
It was a Gold for Cassandra Sharpe (Whistler) who jumped without a pole in her left hand which has been in a cast since she injured her thumb in halfpipe qualifying Monday. Teammate Yuki Tsubota (Pemberton), who injured her knee earlier in the week and was uncertaiin for today's competiton, but persevered and won Bronze.
"It feels awesome to stand on top the podium. I was not 100% because of my injury but I pushed through to get an amazing result," said Sharpe.
Max Heard (Duncan) won Gold in the Men's Aerials, his second medal of the Games, whileNoah Morrison (Vernon) won the Silver.
"It’s an amazing feeling to be a Gold medalist," said Heard.
"I feel excellent," said Morrison. "My coaches helped to keep me in the right state of mind and that helped me achieve a great result today."
There was more Gold for BC on the Canada Games Oval as the BC team of Alison Banwell (Kelowna), Sarah Pousette (Prince George),Josie Spence (Kamloops) and, Victoria (Tori) Spence (Kamloops) won the Team Pursuit. They skated across the line in 3.36.62, giving Tori her fourth medal of the Games while sister Josie earned her second.
"A Gold medal was the only option. I’ve just never been happier", said Banwell. "This is what the last two years have been all about – winning the Gold in the team pursuit," said Pousette.
Coach Nancy Goplen (Kelowna) said that communication was the key to the win. "Figuring out our strategy was important and we put a lot of thought into our exchanges," she said. "The girls were on a mission and they knew what they had to do".
Late Wednesday Kal Nemier (North Vancouver) earned Team BC's 20th medal, a Silver in the Artistic Gymnastics All Around. He had been dealing with an injury earlier in the week, making his medal win even more of a victory.
Team BC's men's hockey team won their quarter-final game against Manitoba 4-2 on two goals from Curtis Lazar (Vernon) who continues to lead the tournament in scoring, a goal from Brennan Clark (Kelowna), whos scored his first goal of the tournament, and a goal from Nicolas Petan (Delta). BC plays in the semi-finals Thursday night against the winner of Wednesday's game between Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Two days of competition remain in Week One of the 2011 Canada Winter Games. Week Two competition begins Sunday.
Team BC has brought a dedicated team of 242 athletes, 74 coaches, three National Artists and 22 mission staff to the Games in Halifax. Approximately 2,700 athletes, coaches, managers and officials have come to the Games from every province and territory in Canada.
The Canada Games is a national multi-sport Games competition that brings together the best athletes from each Canadian province and territory. The primary objective of the Games and the Games movement is national and provincial sport development of Canadian youth.
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Photos to accompany this press release can be downloaded at teambc.org/photos
Media Contact:
Jan Mansfield
Team BC Communications Manager
januscom@shaw.ca; 902-719-8093