P.E.I. wins medals
Paynter, Doucette, Cudmore earn trips to podium at Summer Games
Team P.E.I. is off to a strong start at the Special Olympics 2018 Canada Summer Games.
Roy Paynter, Kolton Doucette and Teri Cudmore all won medals during the first two days of competition.
Paynter, a Kensington resident, won two gold medals in 50-metre swimming events – freestyle and backstroke – on Wednesday.
“They are our first medals,” beamed P.E.I. chef de mission Matthew McNally in a phone interview with the Journal Pioneer following Day 1. “Roy was pretty hot in the pool!”
Paynter had a final time of 44.41 seconds in the backstroke, and 34.9 seconds in the freestyle. Paynter was disqualified in the 100-metre breaststroke, and his final time was 1:50.63.
Ellen MacNearney of Montague placed fourth in the 50-metre backstroke with a final time of 50.86. She had a time of 1:52.42 in the 100-metre backstroke on Thursday.
Doucette, who is from Wellington Station, had a strong opening day in powerlifting as he won four medals on Wednesday. He tied for gold in bench press while earning silver in squat, bronze in deadlift and silver overall.
Doucette registered lifts of 75kg in squat, 70kg in bench and 100kg in deadlift for a total of 245kg.
“He hit all three of his sets for the squat and bench,” said McNally. “We are excited about that.”
P.E.I. picked up another medal on Thursday morning as Teri Cudmore of Charlottetown won a bronze in the standing long jump.
“We are so proud of everyone’s efforts,” said McNally. “Athletes giving their full potential out on the field of play is very inspiring to watch.
“I am so privileged to be here to support them. The work their coaches have done to prepare
them for this moment does not go unrecognized.”
Also in athletics on Day 2, Jeremy Wall of Kensington had a seventh-place finish in the 5,000 metres.
Bocce
P.E.I.’s four bocce athletes opened competition on Wednesday. Janet Charchuck of Alberton and Jennifer Hickox of Charlottetown are in the same division. Charchuck won the head-to-head matchup 14-0.
Hickox bounced back to even
her record at .500 with a 12-3 win on Thursday. Charchuck dropped a close 9-8 decision in her second outing.
Rick Chan and Tommy Ling, both of Charlottetown, dropped their opening games by 15-6 and 12-7 scores. Chan pulled out an 11-1 decision against Ling in an all-P.E.I. clash Thursday.
Golf
Phillip Chugg of Stratford carded a 71 in the opening ninehole golf event.
Chugg then carded a 70 in Round 2 on Thursday, and will play the third and final round on Friday.
Rhythmic gymnastics Rachael Loggie, P.E.I.’s flagbearer for the opening ceremony, will open competition in rhythmic gymnastics on Friday.
Team sports
In team sports, P.E.I.’s soccer and softball teams played divisioning games Wednesday.
The soccer club finished with two wins and a tie after defeating the Yukon 3-0 and Ontario (Peterborough) 5-0 while playing to a scoreless draw versus Ontario (Mississauga).
In round-robin play in the Blue Division on Thursday, P.E.I. defeated the Yukon 5-3 in a game that featured an exciting finish. The score was tied 3-3 late in the second half, but two late tallies by
P.E.I. proved to be the difference.
P.E.I. plays twice on Friday against the Peterborough and Mississauga teams from Ontario.
The softball squad had two victories and one loss – winning 5-2 over Saskatchewan and 8-6 against British Columbia (Vancouver) and losing 8-1 to Ontario (Alnaguin) – on Wednesday.
In round-robin action in the Yellow Division on Thursday, P.E.I. lost 18-7 to Alberta. The Islanders will meet Saskatchewan and British Columbia (Vancouver) on Friday.
“They have been competitive games,” noted McNally.
Overall, McNally is delighted with P.E.I.’s start.
“It’s been a very exciting week,” noted McNally. “The energy is carrying us through all this heat we have been getting over here.
“The games committee and the team have been managing to find ways to support the athletes in the extreme heat.”
McNally was also quick to praise the efforts of the hardworking and dedicated athletes.
“We are very proud of them,” emphasized McNally. “They have been given an all-out effort.”