How Did GTA Athletes Do at the 2018 Winter Olympics?

Published February 27, 2018 at 7:12 pm

evan_mceachran_olympic_ski

You’ve seen them on TV, or perhaps even training at your gym for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.

Well, there are some very local names who made it onto the podium while representing Ontario – and Canada – to the fullest.

Ontario is celebrating the outstanding achievements of its athletes who helped Canada earn a new national medal record at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, with Ontario athletes winning eight medals in team and pair events, out of 29 medals for Team Canada.

This year, 70 Ontario athletes were part of the largest Canadian team ever to be sent to a Winter Olympics — competing in 10 of 15 sports in South Korea.

In total, 28 Ontario athletes reached the highest level of their sport by securing a spot on the Olympic podium for Team Canada.

Seven athletes represented Halton in PyeongChang.

At least three of them – Oakville’s Brianne Jenner and Cody Goloubef, plus Burlington’s Renata Fast – came home with medals.

Tessa Virtue from London and Scott Moir from Ilderton won two gold medals in figure skating, making them the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history.

Six out of the seven athletes on Canada’s gold winning figure skating team are from Ontario including Patrick Chan, Gabrielle Daleman, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

John Morris from Ottawa took home gold in curling mixed doubles, while Meagan Duhamel from Lively and Eric Radford from Balmertown added to their medal count with a bronze medal in pairs figure skating.

Eleven out of the 23 athletes on the silver medal winning women’s hockey team are from Ontario including Fast, Jenner, Meghan Agosta, Laura Fortino, Haley Irwin, Rebecca Johnston, Genevieve Lacasse, Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner, Laura Stacey and Jennifer Wakefield.

Eight out of the 25 athletes on the bronze winning men’s hockey team are from Ontario including Goloubef, Chris Kelly, Chris Lee, Eric O’Dell, Justin Peters, Derek Roy, Christian Thomas and Wojtek Wolski.

Phylicia George from Markham won bronze in women’s bobsleigh, and Alex Kopacz from London won gold in two-man bobsleigh.

“You inspire all of us to reach beyond what is possible to what is incredible,” said Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Daiene Vernile.

The province’s Quest for Gold program supports over 1,300 athletes from over 50 sports, while also supporting programs that enhance coaching and training to help athletes reach their full potential. Eighteen athletes who won medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics are Quest for Gold recipients.

“Behind every Olympic athlete is a personal team of parents, coaches and friends who make incredible sacrifices to help them reach the highest level in their sport,” said Premier Kathleen Wynne.

“But every four years, our athletes have an entire country behind them. That was certainly the case this February in PyeongChang. It was a thrill to watch, cheer and be inspired by Team Canada. I want to thank them all and send a big congratulations to the Ontario athletes who dug deep to give us their best. Whether you landed on the podium or not, we are proud of the way you represented our province.”

Team Canada won 11 gold, 8 silver and 10 bronze medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

A FEW THINGS

  • Top Paralympic athletes from Ontario will represent Canada at the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games from March 9 to March 18.
  • Since 2006, Quest for Gold has provided over $120 million in funding to support athletes, coaches and high performance programming.
  • Since the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, Ontario’s representation on Team Canada has increased from 19 per cent to 31 per cent at these 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
  • Supporting high performance athletes to pursue excellence is a key priority of Game ON The Ontario Government’s Sport Plan which is building a world class amateur sport system from playground to podium.

(Source: Province of Ontario)

Cover photo via Instagram/@EvanMcEachran

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