The Corridor has delivered its first medal of what should be many to come.
Langford Mayor Stew Young proclaimed the new road up Bear Mountain as the 鈥淥lympic Corridor鈥� on Tuesday because of the number of Canadian international athletes who train there. On Wednesday, Bear Mountain-based Haley Smith won bronze in women鈥檚 mountain biking at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
鈥淭he trails on the Bear are amazing and world class,鈥� said Smith.
鈥淵ou would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the world like that to train. I love Victoria. It feels like home. It鈥檚 the only place in sa国际传媒 that gives us that option in terms of weather and temperature [through the winter months].鈥�
Smith transferred that Bear training well to the Nerang Trails in Queensland in finishing behind the gold-silver English duo of Annie Last (1:18:02) and Evie Richards (1:18:50) to make the podium in 1:20:26. Fellow Canadian Emily Batty, fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics, was fourth again in 1:21:02.
Smith is considered the next thing in Canadian women鈥檚 mountain biking following Batty and Victoria-trained 2016 Rio Olympics-bronze medallist Catharine Pendrel. Asked if there鈥檚 pressure that comes with that, Smith said: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel it. I鈥檝e got a lot of things I still need to work on.鈥�
Smith said she went to Gold Coast 鈥渇or the experience and joy of it and to learn as much as I can learn with a critical eye.鈥�
Meanwhile, a Canadian won a medal in the men鈥檚 high jump Wednesday, but it wasn鈥檛 the one everybody expected. Three-time Olympian Michael Mason of Nanoose Bay came into Gold Coast as the bronze medallist from the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and silver-medallist in the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games. The Islander slipped to sixth place in Gold Coast at 2.24 metres.
Little-known Django Lovett of Surrey came out of nowhere to take the bronze medal with a personal-best 2.30 metres behind gold-medallist Brandon Starc of Australia (2.32) and Jamal Wilson of the Bahamas (2.30 and a silver medallist on countback).
Rising Adam Keenan of Victoria made his international Games debut with a promising fourth-place finish in the men鈥檚 hammer.
鈥淭his experience has been incredible,鈥� said the Lambrick Park Secondary graduate.
鈥淭his is the strongest Commonwealth Games there has ever been in the history of the event 鈥� especially for the depth. Just to be part of this group is indescribable. Fourth place . . . I鈥檓 feeling pretty amazing.鈥�
Nick Miller of England won gold with an English- and Games-record throw of 80.26 metres, with Matt Denny of Australia taking silver at 74.88, Mark Dry of Scotland bronze at 73.12 and Keenan fourth at 72.15 in the 16-man field.
Elsewhere, Canadian boxer Marie-Jeanne Parent lost her semifinal Wednesday but will leave the Commonwealth Games with a bronze medal.
And sa国际传媒 will earn five more medals in the boxing ring, with only the colour to be decided.
Parent lost a 4-1 decision to England鈥檚 Sandy Ryan in the 69-kilogram division.
