Athletes from the Town of Cochrane had a suburb showing at the 2020 Alberta Winter Games that ranged from Feb. 14 to 17 in Airdrie.
The four-day event saw nearly 2,000 competitors from across the province participate in 19 sports. Alberta’s Winter Games showcase a wide variety of sports including ringette, speed skating, figure skating, curling, futsal, wrestling, and judo. Participants in each sport qualify to attend through zone playoffs held throughout the province.
Cochrane had more than 20 athletes participating in a variety of different sports over the course of the four days with either Zone 1, Zone 2 or Zone 4. Cochrane earned eight gold medals starting with Flora and Soma Csonka in biathlon. Flora won gold in the Girls Mass Start, with her brother taking gold in Boys Mass Start and Boys Sprint. Flora also won two silvers. Quentin Wedderburn finished third in 14U Boys Sprint, fourth in 14U Boys Mass Start, and sixth in 14U Boys Individual. Simon Witt had two 13th place finishes in Air Rifle 12U Boys Individual and Boys Sprint while getting eighth in 12U Air Rifle Boys Mass Start.
Nicholas Hooper won a gold medal in the Male 65kg wrestling division and Brendan Maguire won gold in the Male 60kg. Emily Toner also took home gold in the Female 72kg division. The gold medal-winning trio were also part of the team made up of Morgan Hill, April and Curtis Hooper, Maeve Maguire, Aaron Swedlo and Noah Sharkey. Grace Toner just missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish in the All-Around Team category. Garrett Ament helped Zone 4 earn a sixth-place finish.
Anjali Simms won gold for Zone 4 in female hockey, with Raedyn Spademan and April Klarenbach helping Zone 2 to a fifth-place finish. In the male hockey side, Kadon McCann and Kenny Roberts won a bronze medal with Zone 2 while Ethan Mann and Zone 1 came in fifth. Brock Gilbert had fourth and fifth-place finishes in the 11 and 12 Male Individual and Male Team Pursuit events with Zone 2 in speed skating. Natalie Rosenberg, Sarah Trahan, Carly Crone, and Natalie Sobocan won a bronze medal in ringette. Abigail Cabot finished 10th in Star 8 Women's Singles for figure skating.
Robin Wang scored a gold medal in Women's Foil for fencing and also got a fourth-place finish in the mixed team event. Carmen Chopp, Brooke Miller, and Madison Rayner won silver in the Futsal-Soccer female tournament while Lucas Kohlman won silver on the boy's side. To round out the competition is Faith Solomon finishing fourth in female volleyball and Ryan John finishing eighth in male volleyball.
“The skill, resolve and love of sport displayed by these young athletes at the 2020 Alberta Winter Games was inspiring. My sincere congratulations to all the competitors; may your future in sport continue to shine," said Leela Sharon Aheer, Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women.
"The success of these games also rests with the host city, games organizers and volunteers. Through their warmth and hospitality, they certainly set the bar high for these games. We look forward to seeing you all at the 2020 Alberta Summer Games in Lethbridge.”
