Beginner wins hammer throw
Sam Korkola also took silver in the javelin, an event he knows better
The Saskatchewan Summer Games are being held this week in Estevan, where nearly 1,900 athletes are to compete over six days. Here are some highlights following Thursday’s competition in the southeastern Saskatchewan city:
HAMMER TIME
Sam Korkola went in virtually cold and won a gold.
Barely two weeks after practising the hammer throw for the first time, Korkola competed in the event at the Saskatchewan Summer Games ... and finished first.
“I thought I’d go there and try my best,” said Korkola, a 17-year-old member of Regina’s Excel Athletika Track and Field Club. “I didn’t know how well I’d do, but I thought it would be fun.
“I think my coach (Terry Mountjoy) was as surprised as I was. I had no idea where (the gold-medal performance) was coming from. It just kind of felt right.”
Korkola had a winning distance of 43.92 metres despite being small (5-foot-7 and 190 pounds) by hammer-throw standards. He also earned a silver medal in the javelin — an event with which he was more familiar — with a throw of 44.96m. Landon Kohle of Cudworth had a winning throw of 49.57m.
As well, Korkola was ninth in discus (29.88m) and 10th in shot put (11.44m). He achieved personal bests in all four of his events.
“It’s probably the best meet that I ever had in my life,” he said.
Two other meets are fast approaching.
From Friday to Sunday, he will be at the Canada Games Athletics Complex for the Western Canada Challenge track and field meet. The event will feature the top youth- and midget-aged athletes from Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta.
After that, Korkola will turn his attention to the Legion national youth championships, to be held in Sainte-Therese-Blainville, Que., from Aug. 5-7. He met national qualifying standards at the Saskatchewan Summer Games.
CURRENT EVENTS
Canoe-kayak is being held for the first time in Estevan, thanks to some resourcefulness.
Especially for the Games, a course has been set up at the Boundary Dam Reservoir. Buoys were borrowed from the Wascana Racing Canoe Club.
“We had to set up the buoys in 60 feet of water,” Brenda Lyons, the Games’ co-chair of marketing and promotions, said Thursday. “Wascana isn’t as deep.” Nor is the current the same. “It was tricky to set up, and it’s a tricky course because of the (active) currents,” Lyons noted.
Even so, the canoe-kayak event has added to the already-vibrant atmosphere of the Games.
“It’s something we don’t usually have in Estevan and in lots of places in Saskatchewan — the opportunity to watch canoe-kayak races,” Lyons said. “It’s really cool and everyone is enjoying it.”
REGINA ROLLING
The first half of the Games concluded Wednesday, when archery, athletics, baseball, basketball, golf, female soccer and triathlon concluded. The second-half sports, which begin Thursday, are canoekayak, equestrian, male soccer, softball, swimming, tennis and volleyball.
At the midway point, the Regina district led the medal standings with 34 (15 gold, 14 silver and five bronze). Saskatoon was next in line with 32 (10 gold, nine silver and 13 bronze).
Two Reginans — Matthew Exner and Natalia McCullough — won two individual gold medals in athletics. Exner won the male 800m and 1,500m in addition to being a part of the gold-medal-winning, record-setting sprint medley team (along with Gavin Hart, Jacob Smith and Vaughn Taylor). McCullough won the female 800m and 1,500m.
Regina’s female basketball team won the gold medal, defeating Saskatoon 52-35 in the final.
In triathlon, Regina’s Molly Lakustiak won three gold medals in the 12-13 division — in individual female, team female (with Ella Perras) and team mixed (with John Warawa).
A complete list of first-half Regina results appears in Local Scene.