Local swimmer picks up two silvers at Canada Games

DIDSBURY - It was a very good week for Didsbury swimmer Wesley Wilks at the Canada Summer Games last week in Winnipeg.

Wilks took home three silvers and a bronze in Special Olympics male swimming.

Stephen McMurter and Sarah Schmick, both of Carstairs, had five top 10 finishes each in Special Olympics male swimming and female swimming, respectively.

Alberta ended up fourth overall in medal standings with 26 golds, 38 silvers and 33 bronzes behind first-place Ontario, second-place B.C. and third-place Quebec.

Wilks told the Gazette he was very thrilled to be able to step up to the podium four times. The 16-year-old attends Didsbury High School and swims with the Olds Rapids Swim Club.

"I was pretty happy," said Wilks. "I could've gone faster in one of my races but I had a problem with one of my legs. I had a muscle spasm so I couldn't kick as hard. I was very happy though. I did better than I ever thought I would."

Wilks said the competition was pretty intense with the top four swimmers being pretty close in each race.

"Among the top four spots it was fairly intense," he said. "The number 1 guy was very strong but he was also two years older. On my first race, the 50 metre breast stroke, he said if he didn't look over I would've won. We had a very intense rivalry. Third place was pretty close as well as was fourth."

Wilks said he felt pretty confident when he stepped up on the blocks for each race.

Wilks added that the whole experience of the Canada Summer Games was unlike anything he'd experienced before. "It wasn't as big but I swam at Alberta Summer Games," he said. "It's not as big but it's kind of like it. The Canada games are much bigger. We slept in bunks, we took shuttle buses everywhere."

The Canada games brought out some of the best scores Wilks has had in the pool.

"I swam a lot faster," he said. "I was pretty happy. I've shaved about two to three seconds off my races. I think it was due to the competition and the cheering."

Wilks said the atmosphere at the games really helped him do well.

"It was very loud in the pool," he said. "You could hear it all the way around. It was nice. Since my races were only 50 metre and 100 metre and that pool it was just one or two laps, so I had to get out there and swim as fast as I could; sprint the whole way."

Wilks also appreciated how supportive the other Team Alberta members were.

"When the announcer called my name, I acknowledged the announcer and waved to our Alberta team," he said. "The girls all screamed for me like I was a rock star. It was a very great experience."

In the 50 metre breaststroke on Aug. 8, Wilks was just 0.23 seconds behind gold winner Jesse Shade of B.C. Wilks finished at 38.01 to pick up the silver. McMurter finished seventh with a time of 46.77.

In the 100 metre freestyle on Aug. 8, Wilks once again picked up silver with Shade once again grabbing gold. Wilks had a time of 1:06.47, while Shade swam at 1:00.33. McMurter finished sixth at 1:14.92.

Wilks picked up his third silver medal on Aug. 11 in the 50m freestyle with a time of 30.13, less than three seconds behind Shade's time of 27.48. McMurter finished fifth with a time of 32.47.

Wilks' bronze medal came on Aug. 10 in the 50m backstroke. Wilks swam a time of 37.31 just behind silver medalist Cameron Chambers' time of 36.53. Shade won gold once again with a time of 30.81. McMurter finished seventh with a time of 40.23.

Wilks also competed in the 100m backstroke on Aug. 9 finishing fifth with a time of 1:23.35, while McMurter finished seventh with a time of 1:30.60.

Schmick finished sixth in the 100m freestyle Special Olympics female swimming on Aug. 8. Schmick had a time of 1:29.74. The gold medalist was Quinlan Roberts of Manitoba.

Schmick also finished sixth in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:51.86 in the final on Aug. 9.

She finished eighth in the 50 metre freestyle with a finals time of 40.46 on Aug. 11.

Schmick placed tenth in both the 50 metre backstroke on Aug. 10 and 50 metre breaststroke on Aug. 8.

Harold Northcott of Didsbury picked up a bronze medal as pitching coach for Team Alberta in men's baseball. Alberta beat Ontario 5-1 in the third-place game for the bronze. Saskatchewan ended up winning the gold.