Team Canada Wins Hearts | Special Olympics Alberta

Team Canada finished strong with not just their medal haul, but winning over hearts.

One incredible moment that captured the true spirit of sportsmanship and athlete camaraderie was between the Team Canada speed skating squad and skaters from Uzbekistan. In true Canadian fashion, the team gave extra gear and clothing to give to the team, who came with little to nothing!

Building friendships and relationships was the cherry on top of the experience of the World Games in Austria. Team Canada athletes fulfilled their dreams by showing their personal bests to the whole world.

"It felt amazing," said Evan James, Team Canada speed skater from Stony Plain, Alberta.

"Just unbelievable. The experience to see how you can actually do and then know you had a chance to medal felt amazing. And then not like let fears overcome you during the race or make mistakes so it made me stay focused

Team Canada competed in six winter sports: alpine skiing, cross country (Nordic) skiing, figure skating, floor hockey, speed skating and snowshoeing. Currently, Team Canada took home 117 medals: 47 gold, 43 silver and 27 bronze.

From this incredible medal haul, Alberta athletes brought their best game faces and all athletes have brought home 16 medals (eight gold, five silver and three bronze) in cross country, speed skating and figure skating. Not only did they break personal bests, they represented Canada with grace and true sportsmanship, sharing the joy of wins not just for their fellow teammates, but also for their competitors.

Team Canada Alberta Athlete Results

Name	Sport	Hometown	Results
Kristen Hudson	Cross Country Skiing	Edmonton, AB	1^st Place Women’s Cross Country 4 x 1 km relay F1 Division 3^rd Place Women’s 2.5 km Cross Country Freestyle F3 Division 6^th Place Women’s Cross Country 5 km F2 Division
Evan James	Speed Skating	Stony Plain, AB	1^st Place Men’s Speed Skating 777 m M11 Division 2^nd Place Men’s Speed Skating 1000 m M5 Division
Benjamin Maeseele	Figure Skating	Calgary, AB	1^st Place Men’s Figure Skating Ice Dancing S1 1^st Place Men’s Figure Skating Singles M3 Division
Sarah McCarthy	Cross Country Skiing	Calgary, AB	1^st Place Women’s Cross Country 4 x 1 km Relay F1 Division 2^nd Place Women’s Cross Country 1 km Freestyle F2 Division 2^nd Place Women’s Cross Country 2.5 km Classical F1 Division
Kathryn (Katie) Saunders	Speed Skating	Calgary, AB	1^st Place Women’s Speed Skating 500 m F6 Division 2^nd Place Women’s Speed Skating 777 m F2 Division
Elouise Stewart	Cross Country Skiing	Cochrane, AB	1^st Place Women’s Cross Country 4 x 1 km Relay F1 Division 2^nd Place Women’s Cross Country 10 km Freestyle F2 Division 3^rd Place Women’s Cross Country 7.5 km Freestyle F1 Division
Shane Stewart	Cross Country Skiing	Canmore, AB	4^th Place Men’s Cross Country 5 km Classical M1 Division 3^rd Place Men’s Cross Country 10 km Freestyle M3 Division 7^th Place Men’s 4 x 1 km Relay Freestyle M2 Division
JorDen Tyson	Figure Skating	Calgary, AB	1^st Place Women’s Figure Skating Singles F4 Division

Our athletes were joined by dedicated coaches Barb Prystai (figure skating) and Holly Burton (cross country skiing), honorary Team Canada coach, Jamie Sale and mission staff Jill Moore (speed skating).

There was no shortage of hospitality and warmth in Austria. The host cities pulled out the all stops to make sure 105 nations felt the heartbeat of the world by ensuring quality competition experiences at their sport venues in :Graz, Schladming, Rormoos/Untertal and Ramsau Am Dachstein while Graz hosted a joyous family and friends gathering at the skybar.

Special Olympics Alberta is incredibly proud of all our members' achievements and performance. Each hometown celebrated their athlete's accomplishments with a heroes welcome in their city and towns.

For full Team Canada results go to the Team Canada Website or the official 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games website www.austria2017.org . You can find real time results and coverage on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram through hashtags #SOTeamCanada17 and #Austria2017. You can also find coverage with Special Olympics Alberta @SpecialOAlberta and Special Olympics Canada @SpecialOCanada. Team Canada high resolution photos are available on Flickr.