Team BC hauled in 41 medals after week one of the Canada Winter Games.
They now sit third in the medal count — three behind Ontario and two ahead of Alberta.
Quebec leads the medal standings with 83 medals.
“Team BC athletes are off to an amazing start and were certainly fueled by the hometown support of family, friends and local fans,” said Rob Needham, Team BC Chef de Mission. “We are looking forward to week two to continue to build on the momentum for more podium finishes.”
The alpine skiing team earned eight medals through the week including a silver for Kristina Natalenko (New Westminster) in giant slalom and four medals in the ski cross event. Para alpine contributed another three with gold and silver for Mel Pembel (Victoria) and a silver for Mark Robertson (North Vancouver). Solid races by the rest of the team led to multiple top-10 finishes.
Northern athletes Tony Proctor (Prince George) and Emerie Watson (Quesnel) combined for a bronze medal in the archery mixed team event.
Rising star Emily Dickson (Burns Lake) wowed the hometown crowd at biathlon earning three individual medals (gold, silver and bronze) and combined with her teammates for a gold in the relay event.
The men’s curling team led by skip Tyler Tardi (Surrey) suffered a tough semifinal loss but rebounded to win the bronze medal.
Freestyle skiers kicked off the week in style with double golds from Teal Harle (Whistler) and Elena Gasketll (Vernon) in slopestyle and big air, along with silver from patrick Dew (Coldstream) and two bronze for Sofinae Gagnon (Whistler).
The men’s and women’s gymnastics teams had solid performances both earning team bronze medals and then Aaron Mah (Vancouver) and Shallon Olsen (Surrey) combined for six medals in cluding a silver for Olsen in the all around.
The women’s hockey team had two wins and four losses with a final placing of sixth. Sarah Potomack (Aldergrove) was the team’s top scorer of the tournament with four goals and three assists.
Ringette brought incredible team spirit and a loud cheering section as they battled on the ice at the Colloseum. With some very close games, the team ended up sixth at the tournament.
The long track speed skaters started the week in Prince George on the outdoor oval, however, warm temperatures forced the competition to move to Fort St. John. Nine medals were earned with six of those from Sara Spence of Kamloops. The short track speed skating team gained valuable experience with two sixth-place finishes for Allison Desmarais (Vanderhoof) and a fourth-place finish for the men’s 3,000-metre relay.
In target shooting Leia Hoot (Kamloops) earned silver and Jessica Auton (Langley) earned bronze. Brian Ng (Langley) and Dakota O’Donnovan earned a team bronze.
Week two of the competition began Feb. 21 with Team BC’s men’s hockey.
