Hannah Mehain, a cross country skier from Vernon, helped her team to a silver medal. (Photo Credit: Kevin Bogetti Smith)
The last day of competition saw 12 more medals for Team BC, one of them thanks to the work of a cross country skier from Vernon.
The women's cross country skiing team took silver in the 4 x 3.75 relay on Saturday. Hannah Mehain of Vernon, along with teammates Katherine Weaver of North Vancouver, Molly Miller of Kimberley, and Eliza-Jane Kitchen of North of Vancouver, had a come-from-behind success for the medal.
The team was in sixth place in the first transition when 13-year-old Miller began her leg. “I caught the first two athletes pretty quickly and stayed with them until about one kilometre in and then I passed the Ontario skier. I was happy to know we were in medal contention,” said Miller.
Team BC's Hannah Mehain - 3rd skier out of four puts us in 2nd #GoTeamBC #2015CanGames #TBCXCSkiing pic.twitter.com/krX94TrG4A
— Team BC (@GoTeamBC) February 28, 2015
Vernon's own Mehain continued to gain ground on the third leg, putting B.C. in second when she passed off to Kitchen for the last leg. “I was so shocked to see Hannah come in second and by that amount, so I was excited and ready to go,” said Kitchen. “I was a little scared too because I didn’t want third place skier to catch up. I could see the skier ahead and I was thinking just give it for the team. I thought of all of them and the work they had just put in. Out on the course the fans and coaches were amazing, running up the hills and cheering us on."
Kitchen kept up the pace and her position, crossing the line for the silver into the arms of her teammates.
The men's team also did well, taking bronze in their 4 x 5 km relay with the help of Geoffrey Richards from Rossland. He started off in fourth on the final leg, but kept catching the leaders to take third. “It was awesome leaving the stadium after the exchange and all over the course there was a big crowd of people following the race,” Richards said. “Definitely good for the motivation and gets you pumped.”
Team BC won 12 medals in total on Saturday with two golds, six silver, and four bronze, bringing up their total count to 88. British Columbia took third overall in the medal standings, with Quebec in first with 141 medals and Ontario in second with 110.
The Closing Ceremony for the 2015 Canada Winter Games is Sunday at 4 p.m. at the University of Northern British Columbia.
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