The 2014 Alberta Summer Games were held from July 24 to 27 in Airdrie and several local athletes came away with a bounty of medals.Misty Olsen, a member of Special Olympics Olds and District, left with seven swimming medals in Category 5, a class for Paralympics and Special Olympics competitors born between 1992 and 2002.She took gold in the 100-metre backstroke, silver medals in the 100-metre breaststroke, 50-metre freestyle, 4-by50-metre freestyle relay, 4-by50-metre medley relay and bronze in the 50-metre backstroke and 50-metre breaststroke.“I was almost in tears, that's how happy I was. It was awesome,” Olsen said about the feat.“Just the experience was like, fantastic. Meeting new people and all that stuff,” she added about her time in Airdrie.A fellow Special Olympian, Aaron Lewis, joined Olsen at the Games and finished fifth in the Category 5 male 50-metre breaststroke.Olsen and Lewis were not the only members of Special Olympics Olds and District in recent action.Earlier in July, Dolten Cote won bronze in five-pin bowling at the 2014 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Vancouver.Laura Klinck was another Olds athlete competing for Zone 2 in the province at the Alberta Summer Games.Klinck won gold in the U-17 female triple jump, leaping 10.69 metres – a personal best.The 15 year old said it was her biggest athletic achievement to date.“It's pretty exciting. I didn't think I'd do as good as I did but it's pretty cool,” Klinck said.Other local athletes who won medals for Zone 2 included Stephen McMurter, who won gold in swimming for the 4-by-50-metre medley relay along with Sieanna Birch and Allison Land, who won gold in female softball.Andreas Troschke won gold in the U-15 hammer throw.Wesley Wilks is a Didsbury-area swimmer who trains with the Olds Rapids Swim Club in town and won eight medals for Zone 4.His medal count included: Gold in the 50-metre fly; silver in 100-metre freestyle, 4-by-50-metre freestyle relay, 50-metre breaststroke, 50-metre freestyle and 4-by-50-metre medley relay and bronze in the 100-metre backstroke and 100-metre breaststroke.Justin Valentine, from Bowden also won multiple medals in Category 3 events for Zone 4.Valentine won gold in the 400-metre freestyle, 200-metre backstroke, 800-metre freestyle and 400-metre individual medley and silver in the 100-metre backstroke and 200-metre freestyle.He also won bronze in the male 12-13 year olds 4-by-50-metre freestyle relay.Zone 2 finished second among the eight zones with 160 total medals.Zone 3, which includes Calgary, finished first with [email protected]
