WINNIPEG – All the athletes who competed in the first week of the Canada Summer Games have now gone home and a new group of competitors have already descended upon Winnipeg. After a two day break the games resume with week two of the event on Monday.
With 18 total medals so far Manitoba is on pace to beat the record of 35 medals they hauled in four years ago in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
“We’re more than halfway there with 18,” said team Manitoba’s Chef de Mission Barry Moroz. “We’re hoping to get at least 18 so we can break that 35 threshold, and it’s quite doable.”
According to Moroz, Manitoba’s best medal chances in week two are on the bike, on the water and on the mat.
“I’m looking for medals in cycling,” Moroz said. “On the men’s side, a strong team. Canoe/kayak with the Mitchell’s, Emma and Maddy Mitchell are going to give us some medals, James Lavallee, all seasoned veterans in canoe/kayak. A lot of medals available. Wrestling, Hunter Lee is going to win us a medal for sure and probably a few other team members there. Swimming is an unknown. Lots of medals in swimming but if we can get some strong performances there we can achieve our goal.”
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Some of the team competitions for week two include boy’s and girl’s volleyball, boy’s soccer and girl’s softball. Manitoba’s girl’s softball team will be looking to medal again after losing to British Columbia in the gold medal game in 2013.
“Girl’s softball is a young team, but a strong program and well coached,” said Moroz. “They won silver in 2013. I’ll settle for any colour medal. They are younger. It’s an under 21 age category but most of our girls are about 18-19 so they are a little bit younger, but as I say it’s a strong program so we’ll see what happens.”
They’ll play a pair of contests on Monday with games scheduled against both Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan at the John Blumberg Softball Complex.
The girl’s volleyball has team has games against each Nova Scotia and the Yukon on Monday, while the boy’s club also plays twice on Monday with contests against the Northwest Territories and Ontario.
Manitoba’s male soccer team plays their first game on Tuesday against the Yukon.
WATCH: Barry Moroz discusses Manitoba’s best medal hopes in week two
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