Members of three different Team Yukon squads competed at the Jack Brow Memorial Track and Field Meet over the Canada Day weekend in Kelowna, B.C.
Their objectives were to make standards times and tune-up for some upcoming majors Games. Medals — there were plenty of those too.
Yukon athletes, competing in scorching mid-30 temperatures, collected 24 medals at the meet hosted by the Okanagan Athletics Club June 30-July 2.
“It was hot, but they all did really well (with) super sportsmanship, super team spirit, cheering on everybody, which was great,” said Yukon’s throwing coach Kristen Johnston. “We had a really good crew.”
Some of the team was prepping and making standards times for the 2017 Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg July 28-Aug. 13, and some for the 2017 North American Indigenous Games in Toronto July 16 – 23.
Two Yukon athletes will make history at the Canada Games in Winnipeg.
Kate Londero will be the first Yukoner ever to compete in the heptathlon at the Canada Games.
Londero, who was in the women 18-19 division, won gold in the 100-meter hurdles (19.45), 200-metre dash (1:31.15), high jump (1.05m), long jump (3.62m), 4kg shot put (8.47m) and javelin (25.71m), in Kelowna. She also took bronze in the 800-metre at 2:57.54.
Teammate Alysha Gullison will become the first-ever Yukoner to compete in hammer throw at the Canada Games. She won gold in the hammer throw (28.83m) and in discus (25.33) in the women 18-19 division in Kelowna.
“Lots of them were in new age categories,” said Johnston. “For Alysha these would be PBs for her because she went into a higher weight. So she was throwing the 4kg, instead of the 3kg in hammer.”
Dawson City’s Jack Amos was another soon-to-be Canada Summer Games (CSG) athlete to win two gold. He took his in the 1,500-metre at 4:15.49 and the 3,000-metre at 9:14.49 for men 16-17.
Camille Galloway, another track athlete bound for the CSG, took gold in the 5,000-metre (19:49.99) in women 20-34.
Games teammate Hannah Shier captured silver in the 800-metre (2:42.94) and in the 1,500-metre (5:42.24) for women 18-19.
CSG-bound runner Joe Parker sped to gold in the 5,000-metre at 17:29.02 for men 18-19.
Isaac O’Brien, who will represent Yukon at the North American Indigenous Games won three bronze in the 13-year-old boys division. His bronzes came in the 800-metre (2:40.36), the 1,200-metre (4:09.01) and in the high jump (1.15m).
NAIG teammate Jayden Demchuk threw to a bronze medal in the javelin (28.34m) for women 16-17.
Brahm Hyde, who is set to compete at the CSG, won bronze in the 5,000-metre (19:16.30) for men 18-19.
Whitehorse’s Darby McIntyre, who will compete for Yukon at the 2017 Special Olympics B.C. Summer Games in Kamloops this weekend, finished ninth in the 3,000-metre (10:18.98) and 10th in the 800-metre (2:28.41) for men 16-17.
Not every Yukon athlete in Kelowna is slated to compete at a Games, but three of them captured hardware.
Iliana Stehelin won silver in the 2,000-meter (8:29.90) for girls 14-15.
Jerome McIntyre took gold in the 5,000-metre (20:17.08) in men 50-54.
Kuduat Shorty-Henyu, who is assistant coach for Yukon’s NAIG track team, took silver in the long jump (5.43m) and javelin (44.72m) for men 20-34.
Yukon is sending a team of 12 athletes to NAIG.
“We currently train four days per week, 1.5 hours each practice, and we are sending runners, jumpers and throwers to these Games,” said Yukon NAIG head coach Lisa Vowk in an email to the News. “This is the largest team I have taken to NAIG. I’ve been coaching NAIG athletics since 2009 and this is my fourth NAIG games and excited to take a large group who have spent so much time preparing.”
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com