Judo athletes add to Manitoba’s medal haul

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This article was published 26/02/2019 (2130 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Team Manitoba was on a roll at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta., on Wednesday.

The black and gold had their best day at the Games so far, as they added five medals to their total. Team ’Toba now has eight gold, four silver and seven bronze medals to put them in fifth place in the medal standings. Quebec is running away in first place with 124 medals.

Four of the five Manitoba medals on Wednesday came in judo. Winnipeg’s Sam Ulrich was the top performer of the medallists, as she will bring home a silver medal in the over-70 kilogram class.

The three other judo medallists won bronze: Winnipegger Michael Akbashev finished in the under-81 kg class, Selkirk’s Justin Ekosky of the Selkirk Judo Club in the under-73 kg class, and his sister, Sarah Ekosky, in the under-57 kg class.

It was the fifth medal for Manitoba’s judo team, as Kadin Christ-Bonnell finished second in the under-55 kg class on Tuesday.

Also adding to Manitoba’s medal total on Wednesday was cross-country skier Jesse Bachinsky. On Tuesday, Bachinsky won the para-nordic standing 2.5-km race with a time of 7:28.30. He added a bronze to his total on Wednesday in the sprint with a time of 4:33.60. Bachinsky is a 20-year-old Kenora, Ont., native who is visually impaired. He has a guide in front of him to navigate the trails.

Bachinsky is currently on the Canadian Para-Nordic development team, but hopes to make the jump to the national team in time for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics.

Currently in the hunt for medals are Manitoba’s female hockey team and the female and male curling teams.

The female hockey squad is 2-1 and will play Alberta today in the quarter-finals. In curling, Manitoba’s females are 5-1 in round-robin action. The males are currently 4-2. Curling playoffs will begin on Friday.

The Canada Games wrap up on Saturday.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31