Although Ontario and British Columbia picked up all the gold medals on this second day of finals at the Canada Games regatta, several other teams kept the racing exciting on a windy Wascana Lake in Regina.
Ontario's Susanne Ross and Connie Dayboll, who both train in Kingston, Ont., won the first final of the day - the lightweight women's double. Elizabeth Golshani and Elizabeth Rand of BC picked up silver, and Mantioba's Alexandra Gadowski and Elizabeth Tycholis won that province's first medal of the regatta.
Ontario won all the sculling events at this regatta. "It shows the skill level of the athletes and that success has been driven by the club system in Ontario," said Ontario coach Carol Love of Peterborough. "We are very pleased overall, it has been a great experience."
In the women's single, Hilary Whetung Cole of Peterborough, Ontario, picked up gold in 3:56.01 over 1000 metres. Quebec's Laurence Coté was second in 3:57.65, followed by Sarah Graham of Saskatchewan in 3:58.47.
The men's double gold went to Ontario's Mathew Lausberg and Adam Norton, both of Mississauga, in 3:14.65, with another silver going to Quebec (Benoit Morency and Christian Dabrowski). Alberta's Ryan Gallagher and Edwin Marmont take home a bronze.
In the men's four, British Columbia won gold in a boat that included triple gold-medal winners Blake Pucsek of Victoria and Chris Aylard of Sidney (rowing with Colin Sutherland of Victoria and Benjamin Tuyp of Vancouver). Pucsek and Aylard, 2005 Under-23 Canadian team members, also won in the men's pair and eight. BC was followed by Ontario and New Brunswick.
The women's four went to Ontario (Jennifer Roberts, Laura Pidgen, Sarah Waterfield and Elizabeth McCord), followed by British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The winning time was 3:22.24, with a photo finish for second (3:24.42) and third (3:24.72).
Crowd favourites Saskatchewan picked up a total of eight medals over the two-day finals, the best haul ever for a Canada Games regatta for this province.
Alexandra Shishkov of Mississauga, a recent Canadian junior team member, and Katherine Strazalkowski of St. Catharines won gold for Ontario in the women's double in 3:34.95. Nova Scotia's Michelle Mussett and Erin Pegg won a silver, while Saskatchewan's Katy Haver and Sarah Graham got the bronze.
The much-anticipated men's eight race was over in just 2:50.70 minutes as BC powered its way down the course, followed by Ontario in 2:52.62 and Newfoundland in 2:56.52.
"I didn't think it was going to be that close," said BC men's coach Craig Pond. "Ontario put up quite a challenge, especially at the end, but we held on." Several of the men's eight had rowed together at Victoria City Rowing Club before making the Canada Games team.
Today's bronze was the first-ever medal for Newfoundland and Labrador in the men's eight at the Canada Games.
"It's just incredible," said men's eight bronze medallist Jeff Roche of Goose Bay. "We've been training three years for this and it makes it all worthwhile."
Newfoundland's head coach, Paul Power, was emotional about his team's performance. "I never cry, but today I actually shed a tear," he said.
For official results see, http://www.2005jeuxducanadagames.ca/