The first week of competition ended on Friday at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, and the home province fared well as they competed in front of their fans, family and friends.
Alberta is sitting in second place of the Medal Standings with 44 medals. Quebec is leading with 87 medals and Ontario is third with 42 medals.
Alberta earned 44 medals in the opening week, with 16 gold medals, 17 silver medals and 11 bronze medals. With another week of competition, the 16 gold medals earned by Alberta athletes surpasses the total number of gold medals won by Alberta at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, BC.
The sports of Artistic Swimming, Artistic Gymnastics, Wheelchair Basketball, Biathlon, Short Track and Long Track Speed Skating and Freestyle skiing all earned gold medals for Team Alberta.
The first week represents an increase of five medals compared to the halfway mark of the 2015 Canada Winter Games. Biathlon earned a total of 11 medals at these games, an increase of eight medals from the previous games. Short Track and Long Track Speed Skating both increased, combining an improvement of seven medal. Freestyle skiers also improved from the last Canada Games, by two medals.
Brooklyn McDougall and Kaleb Muller were significant performers in the long track speed skating, earning a combined of nine medals for Team Alberta in week 1. Jaime Czarkowski, in Artistic Swimming, took home all three of the gold medals available in the sport.
The women’s biathlon team executed a complete sweep of two podiums in individual events in the last week, with Jenna Sherrington earning three gold medals.
In Short Track Speed Skating, Alberta fared extremely well in a sport that is dominated by Quebec. Alberta squeezed in five medals in the sport, with a win form Hee-Won Son in the women’s 500m race.
Wheelchair basketball electrified the sold-out crowd in Wheelchair Basketball by winning the gold medal against a tough opponent from Ontario, the first gold medal for Alberta since 1995 for that sport.
Montana Fairbairn won gold in the floor routine event in artistic gymnastics. She became the first female Alberta athlete to win this event in the history of the Canada Games.
Freestyler skiers Mackenzie Schwinghamer and Jake Sandstorm each earned two medals for Team Alberta, including a gold medal for Schwinghamer in the moguls event.
Athletes will depart Red Deer tomorrow morning, with a new set of athletes arriving in the afternoon. Week 2 competition resumes on Sunday with a new set of sports and athletes competing in Red Deer.
-Submitted by Team AB
photo by Jordie Dwyer/Black Press News Services
