Mountain bike medal sign of things to come
Smith earns bronze, Mason 6th in high jump
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 “Olympic Corridor” on Tuesday because of the number of Canadian international athletes who train there. On Wednesday, Bear Mountain-based Haley Smith won bronze in women’s mountain biking at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
“The trails on the Bear are amazing and world class,” said Smith.
“You would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the world like that to train. I love Victoria. It feels like home. It’s the only place in Canada that gives us that option in terms of weather and temperature [through the winter months].”
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’s mountain biking following Batty and Victoria-trained 2016 Rio Olympics-bronze medallist Catharine Pendrel. Asked if there’s pressure that comes with that, Smith said: “I don’t feel it. I’ve got a lot of things I still need to work on.”
Smith said she went to Gold Coast “for the experience and joy of it and to learn as much as I can learn with a critical eye.”
Meanwhile, a Canadian won a medal in the men’s high jump Wednesday, but it wasn’t 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 fourthplace finish in the men’s hammer.
“This experience has been incredible,” said the Lambrick Park Secondary graduate.
“This is the strongest Commonwealth Games there has ever been in the history of the event — especially for the depth. Just to be part of this group is indescribable. Fourth place . . . I’m feeling pretty amazing.”
Nick Miller of England won gold with an English- and Gamesrecord 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 Canada will earn five more medals in the boxing ring, with only the colour to be decided.
Parent lost a 4-1 decision to England’s Sandy Ryan in the 69-kilogram division.