Special Olympics BC provincial team earned 120 medals and many personal bests at National Games in Newfoundland and Labrador
The 2016 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games took Team BC from sea to sea for the first time, and the 126 athletes delivered outstanding performances on the Rock. Team BC 2016 earned 120 medals and achieved many personal bests competing in seven sports at the 2016 Special Olympics Canada Games in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, from March 1 to 5.
Special Olympics BC's Langley speed skater Matthew Williams scored four medals, winning gold in the 1500M, two silver medals in the 777M and 1000M, and bronze in the 333M.
Langley residents Sheila Snell and Dwayne Wright, SOBC Surrey curling coaches, coached the Surrey Rocks to a fourth-place finish in their division.
Highlights included the triple gold medal performances by speed skater Paige Norton of Abbotsford, cross-country skier Francis Stanley of Kelowna, figure skater Marc Theriault of Surrey, and alpine skier Michael Langridge of Victoria, as well as the two exciting all-B.C. gold-medal games in curling and floor hockey, and a B.C. podium sweep in the 2.5-kilometre classic crosscountry skiing M3 division by Vernon’s Justin Sigal (gold) and Prince George’s Josh Pudney (silver) and Danny Lafreniere (bronze).
Team BC 2016 includes 126 athletes with intellectual disabilities, 42 volunteer coaches, and 10 mission staff from 31 communities around the province. After working hard over the last year both in their sport-specific training and on their fitness and nutrition, Team BC members were very prepared to be at their best in Corner Brook, and they did their province proud.
“We are so thrilled with the results – the personal bests and medals both,” said Team BC 2016 Chef de Mission Leslie Thornley of Kelowna. “We really are so pleased with what the athletes did and how they represented us.”