Swift Current’s Hunter Berg and Scott Joseph thrilled the hometown crowd with three medal performances on the opening day of Athletics at the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games on Thursday.
Berg got the medal run started when he won silver in the 400 Metre Para Sport Race. He finished in 1:31.41 behind teammate Yousif Kaed.
STEVEN MAH/SOUTHWEST BOOSTER
Berg will be back on the track on Friday for the 200 Metres at 6:45 p.m.
Joseph opened his Games on Thursday evening with a gold medal in the Triple Jump with a top leap of 13.88 metres.
“It felt really good. At first I was kind of frustrated. I got my coaches to get me in the right mindset. It was really good that they helped me get through it.”
STEVEN MAH/SOUTHWEST BOOSTER
Joseph said he was unsure how he would fare in the Triple Jump.
“Honestly I didn’t have that confidence. I wish I did, but knowing that I won it actually makes me feel good. It just makes me feel that I need to be more confident in myself.”
He was third heading into the Finals and registered his medal-winning jump on his second last attempt to edge teammate Logan Fettes, who came in at 13.72 metres.
“I was just thinking jump it because I was just faulting, faulting. It doesn’t matter if I fault, I still know I tried,” he said of his final two jumps.
Only minutes later, Joseph ran the opening leg of the 4×100 Metre Relay as Saskatchewan placed second in 41.29 seconds, just behind Alberta’s 41.12 seconds.
“That was really surprising. I know I was pretty tired from the Triple Jump and had to go straight away for the relay. I just had to give all I had knowing that it was the last event of the day. I am very happy we got a silver, that’s pretty good.”
Joseph had a large contingent of fans at his home track to watch him compete.
“I am very humbled honestly having friends and family cheering me on. It really means a lot to me,” he said.
Joseph will return to action on Saturday for the 200 Metre Dash Preliminaries at 10:20 a.m. and the Long Jump at 11 a.m.
