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Island athletes did Monday what they do with regularity at multi-sport Games 鈥� climb on to the podium.
Desirae Ridenour of Cowichan Bay and Hannah Henry of Victoria won gold and silver, respectively, in the women鈥檚 triathlon race for sa国际传媒鈥檚 first two medals of the 2017 sa国际传媒 Summer Games in Winnipeg.
Island athletes struck for their third medal of the Games later in the day when Bryden Hattie and Ryan Grover won silver in men鈥檚 three-metre synchronized diving.
There should be plenty more where that came from, as 43 Island athletes won medals at the last sa国际传媒 Summer Games in 2013 at Sherbrooke, Que.
The Games, the national multi-sport gateway to the Olympics and Commonwealth and Pan Am Games, began their 2017 edition over the weekend with the opening ceremonies attended by prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Past Islanders who have competed in the sa国际传媒 Games include Olympic-medallists Ryan Cochrane, Hilary Caldwell, Patricia Obee, Lindsay Jennerich, Olympians Steve Nash, Eli Pasquale, Gerald Kazanowski, Ian Bridge, Riley McCormick, Gary Reed, and other Island greats such as Gary and Paul Gait.
Ridenour again displayed why she is a future candidate to join that starry list. The Cowichan High graduate has won three straight races, adding the sa国际传媒 Games gold medal to her recent golds from the European junior championships in Hungary last week and the North American junior championships the week before in Magog, Quebec.
鈥淚t feels amazing. I鈥檓 happy to come out and get that third gold medal in three weeks,鈥� Ridenour said in a statement.
鈥淚 am just happy to come home with the gold and represent sa国际传媒 I did feel pretty tired. This is my third race in three weeks. And the hot weather really takes a toll on you. But you keep hydrating.鈥�
Ridenour and Henry both train at the Triathlon sa国际传媒 national centre, which is handy for them, since the national training centre is located in Victoria.
鈥淚t feels great. We are really happy to have the first two medals for sa国际传媒,鈥� said Henry.
鈥淚 was kind of nervous going into the swim, but I was super happy to come third out of the water. There was a crash behind us but the sa国际传媒 team managed to stay out of it.鈥�
There are 92 Island athletes on a Team sa国际传媒 contingent numbering 354 athletes competing in 16 sports at the 2017 sa国际传媒 Summer Games.
This is the 50th anniversary of the sa国际传媒 Games. sa国际传媒 was third in the last Summer Games, behind Ontario and Quebec, with 122 medals, including 47 gold, at Sherbrooke in 2013.
