– South Surrey para-nordic skier Mary Benson won a silver medal last Thursday (Feb. 24) at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax.
Benson, 50, finished second in the five-km classic mass start race in a time of 23:00.50, ahead of Burnaby’s Courtney Knight (24.16.30), who finished in the bronze-medal position.
Margarita Gorbounova of Ontario won the event in 22:49.10, 11.4 seconds ahead of Benson.
– Vanessa Baxter just missed a medal in synchronized swimming’s duet category Friday morning. Paired with 15-year-old Olivia Zawadiuk of Coquitlam, the Team B.C. duo placed fourth in the A final with a score of 72.344. Alberta won the bronze medal with a score of 73.361.
Baxter, and 16-year-olds Kelli Gustafsson and Erin Williams were on the 10-member B.C. group which placed fourth in the team event Friday night.
Team B.C. scored 69.954, trailing the third place score of 73.111 of Ontario.
– Figure skater Krista Milne, 23, placed ninth in the Special Olympics Singles category, after skating her Elements program last Tuesday and the Free Skate on Thursday. But for her mom, Patti Milne, just competing was a highlight.
“Being accepted by the general population here is an awesome experience for all the Special Olympics athletes,” she said. “It provides an opportunity to grow mentally, physically and emotionally, and encourages them to be a regular member of society.
“To see Krista do what she does is incredible.”
– Shayna Goodwin was ninth in the halfpipe event. Her score of 17.1 left her three places shy of a berth in the final.
Goodwin, 16, qualified for the quarterfinal round of the snowboard cross event after placing seventh in qualifying in a time of 1:07.80. She was eliminated in her four-person quarterfinal group, placing third.
