2009 Canada Summer Games NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release Office of the Premier 2009PREM0029-000268 Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport August 30, 2009

TEAM BC INCREASES GOLD MEDAL COUNT BY 20 PER CENT Michael Cai (), Closing Ceremony Flag Bearer

CHARLOTTETOWN – Team BC ended the with 57 gold, 43 silver and 44 bronze medals, increasing its gold medal count from 2005 by more than 20 per cent, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today. The total of 144 medals in 2009 betters the mark of 119 won at the 2005 Games in Regina, . Compared sport-to-sport at the in Regina, 75 per cent of Team BC improved or equalled their performance.

“This is an outstanding achievement for Team BC athletes,” said Premier Campbell. “The experiences they’ve had in the past two weeks go beyond sport and will stay with them forever. They will bring their experiences home to their communities, and their communities will be better for it.”

“We definitely outperformed the competition in several sports in both week one and week two,” said Ajay Patel, Team BC Chef de Mission. “We had many athletes and teams step up to the plate and achieve personal bests and podium performances. This bodes well for the future of the program and makes me believe that we are heading in the right direction. ”

Swimmer Michael Cai (Burnaby) was Team BC’s Michael Phelps as he won an astounding seven gold medals in the pool and, for that, Team BC named him Saturday’s closing ceremony flag bearer.

“It feels pretty awesome; it’s a great honour,” said Cai when told he was chosen. “There were a lot of great performances in week one and week two, so to lead my fellow athletes into the closing ceremony is pretty prestigious.”

Cai follows in the footsteps of prominent Team BC alumni including Olympians Ryan Cochrane, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Brent Hayden. Team BC won 49 medals in the pool (23 gold, 11 silver and 15 bronze). The men won the entire competition.

Olympian Simon Whitfield and Kristen Sweetland must have heard the footsteps of Team BC athletes behind them as won all four gold medals in its inaugural debut at the Games. Both Alison Hooper (Victoria) and Jeff Phillips (Victoria) won the individual competition and led their teams to victory in the team competition.

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“We have an advantage training out here on the west coast,” said triathlon head coach Patrick Kelly. “The sport of triathlon is growing and growing. No longer are we getting athletes who used to do one sport and now want to try triathlon. We have eight- and nine-year-olds coming to us and telling us they want to be a triathlete.”

Not to be outdone, also won all four gold medals in its debut at the Games. Sue Kim (Langley) and Eugene Wong (North Vancouver) won the individual events and both men’s and women’s teams won gold.

Women’s and soccer teams had gold medal performances with soccer’s Jenna Richardson (Surrey) named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. She scored five goals, most of them game winners, throughout week one.

Following the lead of Olympian and Team BC alumnus Riley McCormick, who got his feet wet at the 2001 Canada Summer Games as Team BC’s youngest athlete at the Games, divers Courtney Hattie (Victoria) and Carey Chen (Vancouver) were the surprise of the 2009 Games. Competing in synchronized for the very first time, the young duo won the bronze medal.

“This medal was totally unexpected,” said head coach Lisa Boog (Victoria). “Courtney is out here with Team BC as our development diver, so to see her and Carey step up and win a medal for B.C. is huge. Courtney has made a name for herself as a very good junior diver, but her performance is a big step in her transition to the senior ranks. Carey is also known as a tower diving specialist, so to see these girls do this well on springboard was a nice surprise.”

Nanaimo’s Nicole Haywood was a nominee for closing ceremony flag bearer as she took to the Canoe/Kayak course with force, winning two gold medals, a silver and a bronze at Southwest River.

“All the paddlers faced daunting conditions and I am happy with our results,” said assistant coach Sara Hopkins (Vancouver). “Nicole displayed incredible poise and tenacity and was an inspiration for the rest of her team.”

B.C. stood in first place in flag points after week one and was second in medal standings. The final tally has B.C. in second place in flag points with 256. led in flag points with 274 while was third with 244. Flag points represent a system of measuring and ranking overall performance by provinces at the Canada Summer Games and are an indication of the depth of each respective provincial sport system. For example, flag points means soccer, with two medals (men’s and women’s) can be compared equivalently to canoe/kayak, which has numerous medals in many disciplines.

Out of 26 sport disciplines for Team BC, 12 improved performances, six equalled their 2005 performance and three dropped one position.

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Team BC finished one medal behind second place Quebec (145) and Ontario (202). “These results are a direct reflection of the hard work our sport partners and provincial sport organizations put into the program,” continued Patel. “Our coaches paid attention to every little detail and created an optimal training and competition environment for the athletes. But none of this could have been done without the continued support of the Province of on and off the field of play.”

Team BC has a record of excellence at the Canada Summer Games. Since the Games began in 1969, Team BC has placed third or better – the team won in 1973 and placed second in the last Games in 2005 – a significant accomplishment for Canada’s third-largest province with a population of 4.4 million, compared to 13 million in Ontario and 7.8 million in Quebec. For many Team BC athletes and coaches, the are a stepping stone to national teams, where B.C. also excels.

Team BC brought a dedicated team of 344 athletes, 73 coaches, three national artists and 21 mission staff to the Games. Approximately 4,400 athletes, coaches, managers and officials, with participation from every province and territory in Canada, took part in the Games.

Every four years, the Province of British Columbia assembles a team of elite athletes, coaches, managers and mission staff to represent the province at Canada’s premiere multi-sport events: the Canada Winter Games, Canada Summer Games and the Western Canada Summer Games. For the first time, the Canada Summer Games was held in two cities, and Summerside, P.E.I., Aug. 15 to 29, and truly showcased the country from end to end.

The Canada Summer Games are the last major multi-sport games event in the country prior to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. British Columbia will host the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games in Kamloops and the .

For a complete roster of Team BC athletes by community and results, visit www.teambc.org. -30-

Media contact: Bridgitte Anderson Chris Graham Press Secretary Team BC Assistant Chef de Mission Office of the Premier 902 628-5976 (cell in PEI) 604 307-7177

Ajay Patel Team BC Chef de Mission, 902 628-5964 (cell in PEI)

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.