Five Airdrie athletes competed at the tail-end of the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara Ont. last week.
The second week of the 15-day multi-sport event featured plenty of local representation, including multi-event track and field athlete Sienna MacDonald, volleyball player Daisy Olsen, soccer players Mykena Walker and Nyema Ingleton, and para-athlete Saheed Alawiye.
MacDonald, a third-year University of Calgary Dinos heptathlete, finished off a strong personal performance at the Games with a bronze in the women's 100-metre (m) hurdles, a silver in the 4x100m relay, and bronze in the long jump. The 20-year-old rounded off her Canada Summer Games experience with fourth place in the women's javelin.
On the volleyball court, U of C Dinos recruit Olsen helped Alberta's U19 women's volleyball squad to second place, following a 3-1 defeat to Manitoba in the championship game. The 2022 W.H. Croxford High School grad was one of just 12 players on the Alberta squad, and the sole player from Airdrie.
"I feel really good about it, honestly," Olsen said upon her return home. "It's a really good achievement – being second in Canada is impressive. I loved the team and thought it was awesome to have that experience. I definitely wish I could do it again."
While competing against other provincial teams was the obvious highlight, Olsen said meeting so many athletes from different parts of Canada was another great part of taking part in the Games.
"They had pin-trading, and it was so fun," she said. "We got to meet new people. It would really get everyone talking...I got [pins] from every province."
Alawiye, also a recent W.H. Croxford grad, competed in both the men's 100-m and 400m wheelchair races. The 18-year-old finished 11th in the first race and eighth in the latter.
Airdrie soccer products Walker and Ingleton competed on Alberta's U17 women's soccer team, which finished the Games in fourth place. Team Alberta were shut out 1-0 by Nova Scotia in the bronze-medal game, but had topped their group by beating Saskatchewan 8-0 and Manitoba 3-1 to advance to the semi-finals. There, they were kept out of championship contention by losing 1-0 to Quebec.
Local athletes who had wrapped up their competitions during the first week of the Canada Summer Games were triathlete Sophia Howell, who collected two medals in three events, and basketball player Tana Layton, who earned gold as a member of Alberta's U19 women's basketball team.
Alberta ended the Games fourth in the medal standings, with 111 medals in total. Those included 35 gold, 33 silver, and 43 bronze.
For full results, visit cg2022.gems.pro.
