There are some familiar names, such as Olympic-medallist swimmer Hilary Caldwell of Victoria. But it鈥檚 the fresh new faces that are most intriguing as sa国际传媒 unveiled its team Tuesday for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which begin next Wednesday in Gold Coast, Australia.
Of the 283 Canadian athletes, 51 are from the Island or train full time in Greater Victoria.
Among the latter are emerging young athletes tabbed for big futures such as triathlete Desirae Ridenour of Cowichan Bay and Bear Mountain-based mountain biker Haley Smith.
Other rising Island athletes who will be making their international multi-sport Games debuts include Sarah Darcel in swimming, Bryden Hattie in diving, Adam Keenan in hammer throw and 2016 Pan American track cycling championships two-time silver-medallist Jay Lamoureux.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting because it鈥檚 the Commonwealth Games and not a junior event, and it will be a completely different experience against top senior divers,鈥� said diver Hattie, a Grade 11 student at Claremont Secondary, winner of three silver medals at the 2017 sa国际传媒 Summer Games, and also the Pan American 16-18 age-class silver medallist.
Victoria field hockey players Kathleen Leahy and James Kirkpatrick, who have been banging on the respective women鈥檚 and men鈥檚 national team doors, will also be making their international Games debuts.
Victoria Boardworks diver Celina Toth, a multiple medallist from the World University Games, steps it up a notch to the Commonwealth Games level, as does the fluidly skilled Victoria basketball player and World University Games-veteran Conor Morgan.
Rugby sevens player Pat Kay of Duncan recalled that the Youth Commonwealth Games were his first international multi-Games experience and how they whetted his thirst, after joining the senior ranks, for advancing to events like the Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games and Olympics.
Of the Canadian athletes who competed in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, 53 per cent went on to compete in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
鈥淸Commonwealth Games] are a dress rehearsal for the Olympics . . . an opportunity for our group to go through a multi-sport Games process and see how it responds to that setting,鈥� says Gold Coast-bound triathlete Matthew Sharpe of Victoria.
The several Olympic and Paralympic medallists from Rio 2016 on the Canadian team in Gold Coast include swimmers Caldwell, Penny Oleksiak, wrestler Erica Wiebe, decathlete Damian Warner and members of the Langford-based Canadian women鈥檚 rugby sevens team.
The Canadian team suffered a blow, however, when Olympic sprint star Andre De Grasse had to pull out due to fitness concerns.
Three-time Olympic-medallist diver Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal will carry the Canadian flag in the opening ceremony.
鈥淲e have an impressive team here at Gold Coast, made up of Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic medallists, as well as NextGen athletes who will likely compete in Tokyo 2020 and Birmingham 2022 [next Summer Olympics and Commonwealth Games, respectively],鈥� said former synchronized swimming Olympian Claire Carver-Dias, the chef de mission of the Canadian team in Gold Coast.
The breakdown of the Canadian team is 52 per cent female and 48 per cent male. Para-sports are fully integrated into the Commonwealth Games with the results counting in the medals table.
sa国际传媒 is traditionally third in the Commonwealth Games behind Australia and England, as it was last time out in 2014 at Glasgow, with 82 medals behind England鈥檚 174 and Australia鈥檚 137.
Because of added sports, such as women鈥檚 rugby sevens and beach volleyball, sa国际传媒 has set an ambitious target of 100-plus medals for Gold Coast. sa国际传媒 has not reached the century plateau in medals at the Commonwealth Games since winning 134 behind leading Australia鈥檚 186 at Victoria in 1994. That was the last time sa国际传媒 has hosted the Games.
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