Young athletes represented their region and were among the best in B.C.
Seven local youths medalled at the B.C. Winter Games in Kamloops last month.
Athletes from Nanaimo and Lantzville were particularly strong in martial arts. On the judo mats, Estelle Morland, Joshua Darmadi and Aaron Boulding helped their Vancouver Island-Central Coast region win gold in team competition, with Boulding also adding a silver in his 34-kilogram division and Darmadi taking bronze in 46kg. Isabella Greene added a silver in her 52kg class.
In karate, Victor Good won gold in intermediate karate forms.
Badminton was another strength area, as Alayna Jankovic earned silver in mixed doubles and Khushi Brar took bronze in doubles. Brar and Jankovic both contributed, too, to Vancouver Island-Central Coast taking bronze in team competition.
Also, Mylah Vanden-Elsen helped her team to bronze in gymnastics.
The games were held in Kamloops and Sun Peaks over four days at the end of February. More than 1,200 athletes competed in 19 sports.
“The last few days have flown by and we have immensely enjoyed having you here,” said Niki Remesz, president of the games, at the closing ceremonies, according to a press release. “You played hard, you had huge determination and excitement, and you lit up this city.”
Also at the closing ceremonies, Lantzville karate athlete Michael Good was recognized with a Coast Capital Savings Leadership Bursary. The bursaries went to games athletes who demonstrated significant achievements in sport and education and also made leadership contributions to their schools, community, or sport associations.
“These young leaders are truly impressive in what they contribute to their communities while also spending significant time training for their sport,” said Kelly Mann, president and CEO of the B.C. Games Society, in a press release. “We are proud to recognize these B.C. Games participants and we look forward to see the impact each one of them makes in the future.”
The B.C. Games flag was passed along to Jennifer Woike, president of the Cowichan 2018 B.C. Summer Games, set to take place July 19-22.
sports@nanaimobulletin.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
