Nova Scotia paddled its way to a boatload of medals at the Canada Games in Prince Edward Island yesterday.
The province’s canoe-kayak athletes steamrolled the competition on the Southwest River near Clinton, P.E.I., winning 10 medals, including five gold, as Week 2 of the Games hit full swing.
Nova Scotia won seven medals overall in Week 1.
“It’s great that we can contribute to the team so much,” said Jason McCoombs, a 16-year-old from Dartmouth who won gold in the men’s solo 500-metre canoe event.
“Everyone’s pretty excited about our results. I think it’s going to be a good thing for the rest of the week.”
Dartmouthians did most of the damage yesterday, with twin brothers Brian and Dennis Stever joining McCoombs atop the podium with a win in the C-2 500.
Maria Halavrezos and Jenna Marks won gold in the women’s C-2 500 and Hannah Vaughan, along with Waverley’s Erika Taras, did the same in the K-2 500. Vaughan and Taras were also part of the gold-medal winning K-4 500 crew with Fall River’s Michelle Russell and Waverley’s Nicole Brown.
Nova Scotia is now fifth with 20 medals. The paddlers hope to match the 28 medals they won in Regina in 2005.
“We have a really good chance,” Brian Stever said. “Medalling in all of our events today is definitely progressing toward achieving our goal of beating our 28 medals from last time.”
Marks and Halavrezos teamed up with Lawrencetown’s Kelsey Cuvelier and Dartmouth’s Adrienne Keene to win silver in the women’s C-4 500 race. Vaughan (K-1 500) and Marks (C-1 500) added bronze medals, as did Halifax’s Andrew Jessop (K-1 500) and the K-2 500 crew of Waverley’s Andrew Pickrem and Dartmouth’s Adam Tenwolde.
Halifax swimmer David Sharpe, one of Nova Scotia’s flag bearers, captured gold in the men’s 200-metre butterfly.
Kentville’s Chris Theriau (silver, men’s 110-metre hurdles) and Liverpool’s Chelsea Whalen (bronze, women’s shot put) captured Nova Scotia’s other medals yesterday.
