Nova Scotia is positioned for a successful finish at the Canada Games in Prince Edward Island this week.
The province wrapped up Week 1 in fine fashion this weekend, winning two more medals. Sackville’s Riley Otto struck gold in wrestling on Friday afternoon, while the men’s basketball team won silver on Saturday morning.
Otto pinned British Columbia’s Arjun Singh Gill in the 85-kilogram class for Nova Scotia’s first-ever wrestling medal, while Nova Scotia lost 105-103 to Quebec on a buzzer-beater after a fabulous underdog run to the final.
Those successes upped Nova Scotia’s medal count to seven (two gold, four silver and one bronze), putting it sixth in the standings. Not only that, but Nova Scotia is fifth in flag points with 92, putting the province within striking distance of Alberta’s 120.
“We’re very pleased with the quality of the competition and the performances of our coaches, managers and our athletes,” said Nova Scotia chef de mission Ron O’Flaherty. “They came prepared, competed very well and represented the province very well. We were just delighted.”
Week 2 sports are athletics, baseball, canoe-kayak, golf, men’s soccer, swimming, volleyball and women’s wrestling. Particularly encouraging for Nova Scotia is the fact that its canoe-kayak athletes won 28 medals in 2005.
“It bodes well,” O’Flaherty said. “The skill level of the competitors this week certainly continues that high-performance achievement we had last week. It’s looking very positive.”
