RANT N' ROAR - DAY FOUR
SWIMMER CHRIS WEEKS RACES TO GOLD AT GAMES
It was another large day in the pool, Tuesday, August 9th, for swimmers at the Eleanor Misener Aquatics Centre. Team NL continued to make a splash in the pool at the Canada Summer Games in Niagara with swimmer Chris Weeks earning Team NL’s first gold medal of the Games.
On the heels of his success with earning a bronze medal on Tuesday, the 17-year-old from Kilbride captured the win with 50-metre butterfly with a time of 24:53 in stunning fashion.
For Chris, it felt great racing in the 50-metre butterfly field and being at the wall with his competitors, then seeing that he won was an amazing feeling. He went on to say that he “had this goal for a while, and I am thankful to my coach Chris Roberts in Mount Pearl and to my parents who have helped to support me to achieve this.”
The medal count for Team NL stands at one gold, two bronze, two silver, a total of five medals in three days. He is joined with his other teammates, Nathan Luscombe and Thomas Pelley, who have also earned medals.
All of the swimmers on the team are amazing athletes who are winning their heats and beating their seed times. They all continue to support each other. The team had four strong efforts in B finals and three in A finals.
For more information, see the press release.
Chef's Corner
Team NL continued the momentum of competing against some of the best amateur athletes in the country on the national stage at the Games. It has been both exciting and beyond what we could have hoped for to earn five medals in swimming this early in week one. It was great to be able to be poolside yesterday evening to see Chris Weeks earn his gold medal. I congratulate him and all of this teammates on this success.
With Newfoundland and Labrador being home to three distinct Indigenous groups: the Inuit, Innu, and the Mi'kmaq, I was grateful and appreciative of the ability to attend a Drum Art Presentation at Niagara Place today as Canada Summer Games continues to celebrate its cultural respect with the 13 for 13 Festival. I was presented with a drum alongside a representative who stood in for Mayor of Lincoln, Sarah Easton, our paired Niagara municipality.
Female wrestlers were ready for Team Quebec
On day four of Canada Games competition, our Team of seven female wrestlers were ready for Team Quebec this afternoon, and despite only one win by Abby Morgan by a pin, the girls looked hungry and motivated. Hard to do against a powerhouse like Quebec but the girls did themselves proud as they took to the mats at Canada Games Park.
Coaches Peter Petipas and Leah Ferguson were very pleased with the girl’s steady improvement and progress throughout the tournament so far.
Tennis wins third straight
Today at Niagara-on-the-Lake Tennis Club, Team NL wins third straight in a hard-fought victory over Team Manitoba in the qualifying round and now reach the quarterfinals in tennis.
Player Declan Walsh took his singles match with a 6-2, 6-4 victory, and Liam Drover-Mattinen cruised to a 6-0,6-1 win. Jasmine Rahman and Mia Waye battled through another third-set marathon to win in ladies doubles 3-6,6-0,6-4 and clinching the tie was the cousin duo of Aiden Drover-Mattinen and Peter Drover-Crane with a 7-6, 6-4 win. Another hot day on the courts!!
Mountain Bikers get 7th place finish
Mountain Bikers XC Team NL’s Carter Stratton, Brandon Seaward, Braeden Peddle took part in the XC team relay this afternoon against some of the fastest athletes on two wheels. Brandon Seaward started things off with a fast start and maintained a small lead over Team PEI at Twelve Mile Creek.
Braeden Peddle was tagged in and did a great job, leaving it all on the course. Carter Stratton brought it all home for a seventh-place finish. All riders gave it their all and did our province proud.
Triathlon spend the day at Welland
Team NL triathletes headed back to Welland this morning for the athlete briefing and course familiarizations ahead of Thursday's Super Sprint event.
Both men and women will race on the shorter courses tomorrow afternoon.
Basketball (Male) gets the win today
It was a full team effort for Team NL’s men’s basketball to get the win over Team Manitoba tonight 71-64. The team was focused and executed the game plan for the full 40 min that they were on the court.
The defensive end was let by players Rohan Betts, Mike Hann and Bower Isaacs. The offensive end was led by players Cam Stanford with another double double 25 points and 17 rebounds and Mark Tobin added 27points and 8 rebounds.
Rugby 7s (women)
Team NL’s Rugby 7s team started their day playing a consolation game against Team New Brunswick late in the afternoon. They conceded their match to their opponent.
Later, they took to the Brock University-Alumni Field to play again. The female players rallied to beat Team Manitoba earning a 9th place finish. After three days of games at Canada Summer Games have come to a close! for a 9th place finish with a score of 10-27. Congratulations to Team British Columbia, who finish the tournament undefeated, capturing Gold on Wednesday night!
Photo Credit: Ken Keeler, Canada Games photographer.
Basketball (Female) has strong showing today
Our women’s basketball team had a very strong showing in the first half against Team Manitoba. Although they played with a lot of heart, they were unable to close the gap and finished with a final score of 66-89.
The team will take to the court tomorrow at the Meridian Centre at 3:15 pm versus Team Yukon.
Photo Credit: Ken Keeler, Canada Games photographer.
Softball (Female) has exciting last game
Team NL played Team Nova Scotia in their placement game Wednesday evening at Southward Community Park. In a game that went back and forth, Team Nova Scotia managed to squeeze out a few runs late in the game to take it 10-7.
Team NL showed determination and the “never give up” attitude that sport brings out. It was a beautiful evening for ball and an exciting game to watch. It has been a pleasure to see the growth that this team had shown this week. Team NL places 10th.