Upcoming Events for March 24, 2017
● It’s the final day of the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games!
● Amiee Gordon and Philip Ste Marie will be the final skaters on the roster today, rounding out the competition in their respective races.
● There will be some serious excitement at the floor hockey venue today as both Team Canada floor hockey teams (East & West) will be playing in gold medal games. Team West will take on South Africa at 8:30, while Team East will face rival Hungary at 11:30. Let’s go boys!
● The final day of competition for alpine, cross country and figure skating was yesterday, so both teams are cheering on the remaining Team Canada athletes competing today.
● Snowshoers will take part in the 400m and 1600m finals.
Highlights from March 23, 2017
● With 8 speed skaters competing today, it was bound to be a day of medals for Team Canada. The Team hauled in 3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze.
● Figure skaters continued to rack up the hardware at the rink, starting with Mike Sumner from Yukon winning silver in his tier on March 22nd and continuing into today with a total of 22 medals won out of a possible 23! Figure skaters dominated!
● There were no floor hockey games today, so both teams were able to hit the streets and explore the beautiful city of Graz!
● Alpine skiers kicked butt on their final day of competition, with 9 athletes winning 9 medals – 2 gold, 6 silver and 1 bronze!
● Snowshoers had another great day on the track! In the 4 x 400m relay, the women snagged gold and the men, silver! Later in the day, both our men’s 4 x 100m relay teams won gold and our ladies weren’t far behind, winning a silver in the 4 x 100 m relay.
● Cross country skiers were racking up the medal haul as well, with Ernest Chua winning gold in the 500m and Allie Libertini winning silver in the 500m!
Interesting Facts
● The Team Canada speed skating squad became fast friends with the skaters from Uzbekistan and in true Canadian fashion, gathered extra gear and Canadian clothing to give to the team, who came with little to nothing. The entire team is going home with hardware!
● Floor hockey player from Team East, Steven Slezsak, showcases the true spirit of Games with the Facebook content he posted yesterday, writing:
o “As tomorrow comes for the final game, I promise to practice as hard as I play and to play as hard as I practice. I will win with pride. I will lose with dignity. I will lead by example and always be a team player. I will honour the game and my community with the highest level of conduct. I will always raise my game. Let’s go and bring this thing home boys!”