Athletes from Cochrane, Okotoks and Gleichen are among those making early noise for Team Alberta as Week 2 began at the Canada Summer Games.
Cochrane’s Ryan Hegarty advanced to the men’s 400-metre hurdles medal round after clocking 57.33 seconds on Tuesday.
Okotoks competitor Doran Janse van Rensburg placed fourth in men’s para shot put, with the results listed as “330” (sic).
From Gleichen, men’s softball player Dantin Winnipeg returned for his second Canada Games appearance after competing in 2022.
Across the province, Team Alberta collected six medals Tuesday — three gold and three bronze — to kick off the second week.
Edmonton’s Rachel Grenke won the women’s pole vault with a 3.85-metre clearance, earning Alberta’s first athletics medal of the Games. “Rough conditions, but we made the best of it and I’m just so happy to be in Newfoundland,” Grenke said.
Lethbridge’s Jin Shomachuk took gold in the women’s hammer throw, while Edmonton’s Maggie Slessor added a gold in the women’s wheelchair 1500-metres. Bronze medals came from Britney Volkman of Leduc County in the same wheelchair 1500-metres, Dayley Reimer of Three Hills in women’s javelin, and Calgary’s Weezy Eze in men’s shot put.
On the court, Alberta’s women’s volleyball team swept Nova Scotia 3-0 (25-21, 25-25, 25-17) in their opener, while the men edged New Brunswick 3-2, closing the deciding set 15-13.
“Every tournament I’ve played in, the first game really sets the tone for the rest of the tournament, so I think it was a huge win coming out here for the first game and we need to keep it rolling going into the rest,” said men’s libero Liam Brandsma. “A lot of us have been playing Team Alberta since U16, so to be out on the court with this group of guys today, means everything.”
Women’s soccer powered past Saskatchewan 5-1 in their first match. “Be able to share this big win with my teammates has been so surreal and just one of the best experiences in my life,” said Edmonton forward Kalley Dancocks.
In men’s box lacrosse, Alberta opened with a 9-1 rout of Quebec. Sherwood Park’s Ryder Harrison said the team benefitted from early acclimatization to the time change: “Adjusting to the time is a little weird, it’s 3.5 hours ahead, so we were lucky and got two days of rest before the start of the competition.”
Golfers teed off at Bally Haly Golf and Country Club in wet conditions, with three more rounds this week. Artistic swimming and diving began their programs, while women’s baseball and men’s softball were postponed due to rain until Wednesday. Wrestling and mountain biking are also set to begin.
Athletics highlights:
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Men’s 100m prelims: Keon Rude (Calgary), 10.54; Malachi Muir (Edmonton), 10.73 (advancing to Friday medal round).
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Women’s 100m prelims: Georgia Oland (Calgary), 11.84 (advancing).
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Men’s wheelchair 100m prelims: Matthew Dykstra (Edmonton), 63 (advancing).
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Women’s wheelchair 100m prelims: Britney Volkman (Leduc County), 259; Maggie Slessor (Edmonton), 50 (both advancing).
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Men’s 400m prelims: Nico Claramunt (Edmonton), 48.68; Farsan Abdi (Edmonton), 49.67 (advancing).
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Women’s 1500m prelims: Jenica Swartz (Lacombe), 4:35.77 (advancing).
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Women’s 400m hurdles prelims: Gabby Paterson (St. Albert), 1:03.69 (advancing).
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Women’s 4x100m relay: Alberta, 46.60 (advancing).
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Women’s long jump prelims: Charlize Ostapowich (Edmonton), 5.43; Amelia Cha (Calgary), 5.19 (advancing).
In artistic swimming, Calgary athletes placed third and fourth in the women’s solo technical routine — Lilian Wark with 211.5483 points and Jasmine Peloquin with 211.4067.
Team Alberta’s overall medal count sits at 47 (12 gold, 18 silver, 17 bronze) midway through the Games. Alberta finished the 2022 Games with 111 medals.
Notables:
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Ardrossan’s Blake Gustafson, a former WHL player now with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, is competing in men’s javelin.
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Edmonton’s James Glennie is making his third Canada Games appearance with men’s softball, while teammates Owen Cox (Grande Prairie) and Dantin Winnipeg (Gleichen) are in their second Games.
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Calgary’s Clara Monck recently represented Canada’s U17 women’s national team at the Four Nations Tournament in Mexico City.
The Canada Games run Aug. 8–25 in St. John’s, bringing together more than 5,000 athletes, coaches and managers, including 500 from Alberta, across 19 sports.
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