 |
|
|
|
|
  
|
Deh Cho duo have much to celebrate
Fort Simpson's Madison Pilling wins bronze ulus at Arctic Winter Games;
Kevin Anavilok-Roche beats personal bestsRoxanna Thompson Northern News Services Published Thursday, March 15, 2012
Speedskaters accounted for 37 medals for Team NWT – 17 gold, six silver and 14 bronze – at the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse last week. Pilling, who competed in her third games – her second as a speedskater – contributed four bronze ulus to that tally. As a snowshoer at the 2008 games in Yellowknife, she won bronze in both the three-kilometre mass start and the two-kilometre sprint races. Three gold and a silver At the 2010 Grande Prairie, Alta. Games, she earned three gold and a silver skating in her individual events in the juvenile division and helped her team to a gold in the relay. In Whitehorse and skating up a division as a junior, Pilling has kept that success alive with a bronze win in each individual race she competed in – the 500-metre, 777-metre, 1,000-metre and 1,500-metre junior female events.. Although moving up a division meant finishing lower on the podium, speaking last Thursday, Pilling said she is happy with the transition. "It's really nice. When I was skating as a juvenile, I was pretty much faster than all my competitors. I did have competition within my team so that was fun," she said. "Here … I am kind of like in the middle." As an athlete, Pilling knows she is not always going to be the fastest skater on the ice. Led the pack For most of her races in 2010 she led the pack and she said she doesn't mind doing a bit more chasing this year. "It's a good balance," she said. Anavilok-Roche competed as a speedskater at the Games for the first time. He said he loves speedskating after becoming involved five years ago. His brother Alex Roche, who is playing on the junior male soccer team this year, got him into the sport. "It just looked like fun," he said. Although Anavilok-Roche did not win a medal, last Thursday he said he is happy with his performance. "I feel like I did very good for the first time," he said. "I decreased my time by about two seconds." He attributed his personal improvement to training he received from Pilling and coach Val Gendron. Both Pilling and Anavilok-Roche said the Games have been a great experience this year. When asked what her highlight for the week was Pilling said, "hanging out with my teammates and meeting all the different people from the different contingents and getting out there and watching all the different sports."
|
