Canada Registers First Triple Medallist Youth Olympian
A swimmer from Alberta won a historic medal while a taekwondo fighter made history of his own. The Canadian basketball team kept their streak alive heading into the elimination round and two runners advanced to the big show.
Swimming: Rachel Nicol (Lethbridge, Alta.) earned her third medal of the Youth Olympic Games, teaming with Lindsay Delmar (Calgary), Tera van Beilen (Oakville, Ont.), and Lauren Earp (Toronto) to win bronze in the 4×100-metre relay. Nicol is the first Canadian to win three Youth Olympic medals. “It means everything,” she said. “All that hard work and all the dedication pays off in the end!” Earlier this week, Nicol captured gold in the 50-metre breaststroke and bronze in the 100-metre breaststroke. Meanwhile, it was the second medal for relay teammates Earp and van Beilen.
Taekwondo: Stefan Bozalo (Vancouver) fought to bronze in the +73 kg division of taekwondo. Bozalo had dropped the semifinal match to Germany’s Ibrahim Ahmadsei due in part to points allotted to Ahmadsei after a video review, late in the third period. “I’m proud I can bring a medal to Canada, I’m just disappointed that it can’t be a higher rank,” he said. Always smiling, Bozalo summed it up: “It’s a weird feeling. I’m happy and disappointed. I feel all the good and all the bad. ” Bozalo is the first Canadian man to win a medal in taekwondo at the Olympic level.
Basketball: The Canadians kept up their impressive streak to start this Youth Olympic tournament, getting past Russia 18-15 to finish the group stage undefeated at 4-0. “We just concentrated on playing tough defence,” said Kaylee Kilpatrick (Saint John, N.B.). “It gets us pumped up for offence then the offence just comes naturally.” As winners of Group A, they will take on Germany (3-1), second in Group B, Saturday afternoon.
Athletics: On Thursday, two more Canadians qualified for athletics finals. Isatu Fofanah (Ponoka, Alta.) qualified second in her heat after a personal best time of 24.54 in the 200 metres. “It feels really good!” Fofanah said. “I wanted to do even better. I am really excited to be in the final, where anything can happen.”Britanny Lewis (Sarnia, Ont.) finished third in her 400-metre hurdles heat. “I felt really good going in,” Lewis said. “It was a little tough at the end, though. I haven’t raced in a while. I am excited about the final.”
Results from Day 6:
Athletics
• Isatu Fofanah – 200 m – Qualifications – 2nd (24.54; PB)– Advanced to final
• Britanny Lewis – 400 m hurdles – Qualifications – 3rd (1:00.16) – Advanced to final
Basketball
• Kaylee Halvorson, Kaylee Kilpatrick, Tiye Traore, Dakota Whyte – Preliminaries – W (18-15) vs. RUS
Cycling
• Kristina Laforge – Team Cycling – BMX – Semifinal – 7th
• Steven Creighton – Team Cycling – BMX – Semifinal – 7th
Gymnastics – Artistic
• Madeline Gardiner – Women’s All-Around – Final – 13th
Swimming
• Jeremy Bagshaw – 100 m Freestyle – Qualifications – 5th
• Lindsay Delmar – 100 m Butterfly – Semifinal – 2nd (1:00.62)
• Lauren Earp – 50 m Freestyle – Semifinal – 6th (26.62)
• Lindsay Delmar, Tera van Beilen, Rachel Nicol, Lauren Earp – 4×100 m Freestyle Relay – Bronze (3:49.12)
Taekwondo
• Stefan Bozalo – +73 kg – Final – Bronze
Tennis
• Marianne Jodoin – Singles – Consolation Semifinal – L 2-0 (Sachie Isizu, JPN)
Triathlon
• Christine Ridenour (America 2) – Mixed Team Relay – Final – 5th (1:22:30.15)
