Pricilla Westlake made history last weekend in Australia.
The Delta lawn bowler won the women's singles title at the World Youth Championships at the Broadbeach Bowls Club in Gold Coast, Australia, marking the first time a Canadian has ever medaled at the event.
"It was really exciting and very unexpected," said Westlake. "I think this is a great win, obviously for myself, but especially for Canada, so I'm excited to be a part of that. It's the proudest moment of my life and something I don't think I'm going to be able to top for a while."
Westlake finished the women's singles round robin in third place with a record of 8-2. With her only losses against Malaysian Noorazlinda Zakaria and Australian Chloe Stewart, she advanced to the quarter-finals against New Zealand's Tayla Bruce. In the battle to 21 shots, Westlake proved superior, winning 21-16.
"The win against Tayla was super exciting. New Zealand is the top bowls nation in the world, so that win was considered really the first upset of the tournament," she recalled.
The win over Bruce gave Westlake another shot against Stewart in the semi-final.
Stewart came out hot, jumping to an early 12-3 lead, but Westlake battled back to claim another 21-16 win.
Westlake had her work cut out for her in the final as she faced off against defending champion Ellen Ryan of Australia.
The Canadian got off to a slow start, giving up six shots before getting on the board. After rallying back to tie the game at 9-9, the duo exchanged shots and were still tied at 13-13 a few ends later.
Westlake appeared to gain some momentum by grabbing four shots to increase the score to 17-13, but Ryan was not to be outdone. The defending champion battled back to tie the game at 17.
After exchanging blows to make it 18-18, Ryan took a 20-18 lead, but Westlake scored three points to claim the gold medal with a 21-20 win.
"This was the third time at this event and I hadn't been successful the past two years, so I thought maybe third time lucky and I could medal," Westlake said. "Getting a bronze medal would have been phenomenal, so I'm just so ecstatic winning the gold medal."
In mixed pairs, Westlake and her partner Luke Caldwell of Peterborough, Ont., finished the event with a record of 5-4, missing out on the playoffs.
The week prior, Westlake finished seventh, just missing the knockout rounds, at the World Cup Indoor Bowls Championships in Warilla, Australia.
