WELLAND, Ont. — The Selkirk Dolphins Swim Club might have to build an extra trophy shelf for Teagen Purvis, who on Tuesday won her third medal of the Canada Summer Games.
Purvis struck gold in the 100-metre Special Olympics backstroke, her second gold for Team Manitoba in as many days. She also has a silver medal.
“I feel so awesome. I am so proud and my heart is pounding out of my chest with excitement,” said Purvis, who is coached by Melissa Diamond. “And I also want to say congratulations to everybody at the Canada Games.”
Purvis won gold in the 100-metre Special Olympics freestyle event on Monday, and then added a silver in the 50-metre Special Olympics breaststroke event.
Halle West of Winnipeg was thrilled to win her second medal, collecting silver in the 200-metre breaststroke on Tuesday. The 19-year-old collected silver on Monday in the female sprint.
“My first time being here, it’s so cool, everyone’s so happy,” said West. “It would be really cool to win another medal — I’m going in first for the 100-metre breaststroke (on Wednesday), but I’ll try my best and whatever happens, I’ll be happy.”
West’s teammate, 17-year-old Eric Dupre of Winnipeg, pocketed the bronze in Tuesday’s 400-metre freestyle event. He became the first Manitoba athlete to medal in that race since 2005.
“That’s crazy to think about — I didn’t know that, wow. I’m excited for the rest of the Games.”
Some of the other big winners in the pool on Tuesday included:
Delia Lloyd of Ontario, gold in the women’s 100-metre backstroke, Thomas Caruso of B.C., gold in the men’s 100-metre backstroke, Katie Cosgriffe of Ontario, gold in the women’s 50-metre backstroke (S1-5);
Bailey O’Regan of Ontario, gold in the women’s 400-metre freestyle, Aidan Erickson of B.C., gold in the men’s 400-metre freestyle, Julie Brousseau of Ontario, gold in the women’s 200-metre breaststroke, Cole Tanner of Alberta, gold in the men’s 200-metre breaststroke;
Leilani Fack of B.C., gold in the women’s 50-metre butterfly, Chris Weeks of Newfoundland and Labrador, gold and Games record, in the men’s 50-metre butterfly, Ontario gold in the women’s 4×100-metre freestyle relay and B.C. gold in the men’s 4×100-metre freestyle relay.
Ontario has moved into top spot in the medal standings with 29, including 13 golds. B.C. is next with 27 medals, followed by Quebec with 18 and Alberta with 16.
Manitoba has eight medals and Newfoundland and Labrador has five. Those with one medal are Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Heading into Wednesday’s fourth day of competition, five teams are still looking for their first medal of any colour.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2022.
