Prince George wheelchair athlete Brooke Perepeluk went to the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, Nfld., having never competed in a multisport games event.
In fact, this is the first year the 23-year-old has ever participated in track and field.
Her lack of experience certainly didn’t stop her from making tracks to the medal podium.
On Friday (Aug. 23), Perepeluk finished third in the 100m race to claim the bronze medal.
Perepeluk stopped the clock in 26.62 seconds, more than six seconds quicker than her previous best heading into the Games competition, and she shared the podium with Team BC teammate Jessica Guerrier of Burnaby, who won gold in 20.82.
“I got into the sport from a friend, Tiana Hesmert,” said Perepeluk, in her online athlete profile. “We were talking about the sport and how beneficial the sport of athetics is. I want the same for myself, grow more independence and become stronger. I want to be able to grow as a person and athlete in the sport of athetics.”
Perepeluk, a native of Yorkton, Sask., also competed in two throwing events, finishing fifth in discus and eight in shotput.
Her 25-year-old brother Reid, a right winger for the Quad City Storm in the Southern Pro Hockey League, played parts of three seasons for the Prince George Cougars from 2017-20.
Caleb Emon of Prince George, 20, ended up seventh in the men’s high jump. He cleared the bar at 1.93 metres before he was eliminated from the medal round.
In other Prince George results, in women’s basketball, Zahra Ngabo of Duchess Park, 16, just missed out on a medal when BC lost in the bronze-medal game 74-45 to Nova Scotia on Aug. 16.
BC beat Saskatchewan 74-65 in the quarterfinals, then fell 72-53 to Ontario in a semifinal game.
In women’s volleyball, Prince George Secondary School student Tyler Dahl, 16, helped BC to a 3-1 (25-19, 25-16, 26-28, 25-18) win over Quebec on Sunday to finish seventh.
BC’s men’s softball team was loaded with Prince George talent and they lost a 13-12 heartbreaker to Alberta in the final day of play Saturday to finish eighth. The BC team had on its 15-player roster five PG boys – Joel Henry, 20; Colby Jefferies, 19, Cameron Jefferies, 22, Aidan Heggelund, 10 and Caleb Poitras, 18.
BC went 2-6 in the round-robin.
In artistic swimming, 16-year-old Kennedy Moore of the Prince George Water Lillies competed in the team mix and finished fifth.
BC finished third in the overall medal standings with 116 medals, including 43 gold, 32 silver and 41 bronze.
Ontario topped the standings with 175 (63 gold, 57 silver, 41 bronze), just ahead of Quebec (63 gold, 58 silver, 52 bronze).
