One silver and two bronze are being brought home to Saskatchewan after the 2012 Summer Olympic Games wrapped up yesterday.
Three Saskatchewan women from two Canadian Olympic teams will bring medals back to the Land of the Living Skies.
Rachelle Viinberg (Regina/1979) – Women’s Eight Rowing
Won Silver with a time of 6:12.06, only losing out to the United States.
Coaches: Al Morrow and Jogn Keogh.
- The 33-years-old has studied biology at the University of Victoria where she also rowed for the UVic Boat Club.
- Club names: Regina Rowing Club and University of Victoria Boat Club.
- The Regina resident is no stranger to the Olympics – this is the third time that Viinberg has worn the Maple Leaf. She finished 8th in the woman’s quad sculls in 2008.
- Viinberg has three other silver medals from the World Rowing Championships for women’s four and eight in 2002, 2010 and 2011.
You can follow Viinberg on Twitter here.
Kelly Parker (Regina/1981) – Women’s Soccer
Won Bronze with a 1-0 win over France on August 9th.
- The 31-year-old midfielder played for the Atlantic Beat last season and spent this year training with the national team.
- Regina native Kelly Parker made her first Olympic appearance at the 2012 Summer Games.
- Parker is a University of Texas-El Paso grad and twice earned all-conference honours playing for the UTEP Miners.
- Part of the W-League team Ottawa Fury in 2004 and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP). She repeated this award in 2010 while on the Buffalo Flash.
- Recipient of the Saskatchewan Program for Athletic Excellence, funded by Sask. Sport Inc.
Kaylyn Kyle (Saskatoon/1988) – Women’s Soccer
Won Bronze with a 1-0 win over France on August 9th.
Coach: John Herdman
- The 23-years-old midfielder plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the W-League.
- Saskatoon native Kaylyn Kyle scored four goals and added four assists in an instrumental performance to help Canada qualify for the 2011 Women’s World Cup.
- She was acquired by the National Training Centre at 13-years-old.
- Kyle is a University of Saskatchewan grad and played on the Huskies soccer team in 2006.
- Recipient of the Saskatchewan Program for Athletic Excellence, funded by Sask. Sport Inc.
You can follow Kyle on twitter here.
Other Saskatchewan Summer Olympians
Brianne Theisen (Humboldt/1988) – Women’s Heptathalon
Theisen placed 11th with 6383 points in the event.
Coach: Harry Marra
- The 23-years-old went on to watch her fiancé, Ashton Eaton, win gold for U.S. in the men’s decathlon in London.
- The Humboldt native and Humboldt Collegiate Institute grad was the Canadian heptathalon champion in 2009.
- Theisen attended the University of Oregon on a scholarship where she is a two-time NCAA indoor track champion.
- She holds the Canadian record for the indoor pentathlon with 4555 pts set in January, 2012.
- Recipient of the Saskatchewan Program for Athletic Excellence, funded by Sask. Sport Inc.
You can follow Brianne Theisen on Twitter here.
Krista Phillips (Saskatoon/1988) – Women’s Basketball
Team Canada lost 91-48 in the quarter-finals against the U.S. They won two of their six games in London.
Coach: Allison McNeill
- The 24-year-old is signed with the WNBL Dandenong Rangers in Australia.
- The Aden Bowman collegiate graduate is a centre with the women’s national basketball team.
- Runner-up for Canada’s Miss Basketball award as a high school senior.
- While at the University of Michigan playing for the Wolverines, Phillips became one of only six women to record 100+ blocks in a season.
- She has played for Team Saskatchewan at the Canada Summer Games and helped lead Canada’s Junior National Team from 2005 to 2006.
You can follow Krista Phillips on Twitter here.
Cory Niefer (Yorkton/1975) – Air Rifle
Placed 38th with 589 points in qualifier and did not advance in the men’s 50-metre rifle prone final.
Did not advance after scoring 581 points in the men’s 10-metre air rifle qualifier.
Coach: Cindy Hamulas
- The 36-years-old has a degree in Human Movement Studies from the University of Saskatchewan.
- The Yorkton native started shooting at 12-years-old when he was a member of the Yorkton Cadet Corps.
- The right-handed marksman has been the national shooting champion for over a decade.
- This was Niefer’s second time at the Olympics; in 2008 he served as the coach of the Canadian shooting team.
Reuben Ross (Pilot Butte/1985) – Diving
Placed 6th with Montreal teammate Alexandre Despatie in the synchronised 3m springboard. They scored a 421.83 on August 1st, while China went on to win the gold.
Coach: Arturo Miranda
- The 26-year-old won two gold in 3m synchronised and single springboard at the Senior National Championships in 2011.
- The Pilot Butte native started his diving career at the Regina Diving Club. At the age of 16, he moved to Edmonton to pursue his diving career.
- Ross attended the University of Miami and competed on the school’s diving team while earning a degree in civil engineering.
- His first appearance at the Olympics was in 2008 where he competed in the 3m springboard and 10m platform events in Beijing.
- Trains at CAMO Club Aquatique de Montreal and is a recipient of the Saskatchewan Program for Athletic Excellence.
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