Didsbury's eight athletes at this summer's Alberta Summer Games in Lethbridge came home with the shimmering glitter gold and silver and a lot of pride for their excellent performances.
The eight Didsbury athletes who competed were in Zone 2, which came in second in the overall medal count at the Games, held July 26 to 29. Zone 2 tallied a total of 117 medals, including 50 gold, 38 silver and 35 bronze.
Didsbury's Tyler McKenna won gold in the male shot put, silver in the discus throw, and a fourth place in the javelin competition.
Kyra Paulgaard placed fourth in the female shot put and discus throw. She also placed sixth in the javelin.
Anna Crowe had a seventh place finish in the female medley relay and finished 13th in the 300m run.
鈥淏ut to me, the most impressive accomplishment is Zone 2 was winning the Spirit of Sport Award, for the first time ever,鈥� said Steven Patrick, consultant in the high performance sport branch for Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation. 鈥淭his award, voted on by Mission Staff, other coaches, village mayors, sport chairs, venue coordinators and technical officials shows that Zone 2 performed with class while competing, eating, and sleeping. Your sportsmanlike actions, daily conduct, and respect for those around you was noticed by others. I am truly proud of Zone 2.鈥�
Led by Matthew Gaudette's silver medal-winning lacrosse team, Olds athletes also had an excellent showing at the Games, held July 26 to 29.
Meanwhile, other Olds athletes came home from the Games with fine results in their chosen sports.
Janelle Graham placed fifth in the 4 X 100m relay, 10th in the 800m run and 12th in the 1,200m race.
Eithan Moench placed sixth in the male discus throw, 6th in the 100m hurdles, eighth in the high jump, and 11th in the triple jump.
Laura Klinck came seventh in the 80m hurdles and female triple jump. Alan Klinck had a seventh finish in the male 1,200m run and an eighth place time in the 2,000m run.
Cassidy Belsher placed 13th in female 2,000m run, 14th in the female discus throw, and 13th in the javelin throwing competition.
In Carstairs, swimmer Sarah Schmick is celebrating three gold and three silver medals. She was the only athlete to represent Carstairs at the Games. She won gold in the 50m and 100m backstroke, and another in the 50m breaststroke. Schmick won silver in the 50m and 1000m freestyle, and one more in the 50m fly.
From Sundre, two kayakers from the 11 athletes that represented the town rose to the highest level by winning gold in two events.
Claudia Mennear won gold in the female 11-14 K-1 wildwater competition. She also placed eighth in the Canoe Polo event. Matt Reed took home top honours by winning gold in the 15-17 C-2 wildwater event. He also had an eighth place showing in the Canoe Polo event.
Kurtis Doyle placed fourth in the 100m hurdles and fifth in the javelin throw.
David Newton had a fifth place finish in the 4 X 100m relay, and eighth in the medley relay, discus throw and shot put. He also placed ninth in the 400m run and finished 11th in the 800m competition.
Hayley Lukas came sixth in the female 100m and 300m hurdles, seventh in the triple jump, and ninth in the high jump competition.
Ty Grassl came 14th in the male discus throw, 12th in the javelin and 13th in the 800m run.
Michael Newton came in 12th in the male high jump, and 10th in the triple jump and javelin throw.
