Delta athletes helped B.C. finish with a flourish at the Canada Summer Games in Quebec.
An impressive final day saw B.C. secure third place in the medal standings with 122, including 47 gold.
B.C.'s rowing team was a force to be reckoned with, earning five gold and one bronze last Saturday and finished the competition with 12 of a possible 14 medals including 10 gold. Leading the charge was Ladner's own Max Lattimer.
Fresh off representing Canada at the recent U24 World Rowing Championships in Austria, the 20-year-old UBC student enjoyed an outstanding regatta - winning three gold medals in as many events.
He teammed with Richmond's Cameron Howie to take the pairs event by five seconds over Ontario. Lattimer then joined his 17-year-old brother Aaron Lattimer, along with Vancouver's Angus Todd and Cowie to capture the lightweight fours race by a healthy six second margin.
Icing on the cake was Saturday's eight event as the Lattimers were part of a winning crew that again got the best of runner-up Ontario by over six seconds.
"It was a great games and a fantastic experience," said Max. "Some tough conditions to deal but luckily we came out on top."
The B.C. men's team went on to go undefeated in the sweep events.
"It's been a pleasure to be one of the coaches on this journey and we're all very proud of our kids, how well they performed, and how well they conducted themselves," said assistant coach and Olympian Barney Williams. "One of the commitments we made was to engage the rowing community of B.C. through our experience, to try and bring the community together through the Games, and I think we succeeded in our goal. We took a picture of all of us in front of the flame and it will be displayed at every club in the province who produced an athlete on this team."
Meanwhile, the Summer Games represent another significant accomplish for 16-year-old Tsawwassen twins Megan and Nicole McNamara. Facing older competition throughout the week, the McNamaras reached Saturday's gold medal game in beach volleyball before finally falling to unbeaten Ontario.
The Grade 11 South Delta secondary students got off to a promising start in the opening set but the difference on the day proved to be the play of Ontario's Ali Woolley as the 19-year-old used her 6-foot frame to dominate at the net. Ontario took the first game 21-18, then closed out the match with a 21-16 decision. The match was televised live across the country on TSN2.
"All in all the Canada Summer Games has been such a great experience and hopefully we can be a part of it in four years," said Nicole. "I think both teams played it a little bit safe and the Ontario girls were able to limit their errors toward the end more than us."
"It was so much fun," said Megan after the match. "We supported each other and it was great playing in front of a big crowd with lots people cheering for us."
Two days earlier, the McNamaras defeated Nova Scotia in the quarter-finals then avenged an earlier loss to Quebec with a dramatic three set win. The host province took the first game 21-16 and B.C. bounced back 21-13 to force a deciding set. The McNamaras were down early but rallied for a 15-13 win.
Immediately after the match they were on speaker phone from court side with their mom and dad back at home to share their excitement of the win.
Megan said, "I don't even know how to describe it.
This is the most satisfying win of our career." "We have been training for this all summer and it is exactly what we hoped for."
"We played two really solid games today," Nicole added. The semi-final win against Quebec was so satisfying after losing to them in pool play. We made some adjustments, stayed mentally tough and managed to pull out a win."
Next for the twins is representing Canada at the Youth Olympic Games qualifier in Puerto Rico, before turning their attention to the indoor high school volleyball season with the defending provincial AAAA champion South Delta Sun Devils.
