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Derek Oryniak (left) and Adam Brooks brought home some hardware from the first-ever Youth Olympic Games.

Quick trivia: Who was the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal?

Answer: George Orton, who won gold in the 2,500-metre steeplechase at the 1900 Paris Games (and would later go on to win bronze in the 400-metre hurdles that same summer).

Now, who were the first Canadian medallists in the Youth Olympic Games? The mixed curling team of Winnipeg’s Derek Oryniak along with teammates Emily Gray of Prince Edward Island, Corryn Brown of B.C. and Thomas Scoffin of the Yukon.

The quartet beat Sweden on Jan. 18 to capture bronze medals in Innsbruck, Austria, in the first winter edition of the Youth Olympics. Canada went without a medal at the inaugural summer event in Singapore in 2010.

"Our families were all there, and we were all so happy," said Oryniak, who lives in North Kildonan and played second for the Canadian team. "We found out (it was Canada’s first medal) after the game. It was pretty exciting."

Oryniak, 17, wasn’t the only young Winnipeg athlete to come home with some hardware. Adam Brooks, a 15-year-old from Riverbend (and Oryniak’s roommate in the Olympic Village), won a bronze medal of his own as part of Canada’s men’s hockey team on Jan. 21.

The forward scored his fifth goal of the tournament in Canada’s 7-5 win over the U.S. in the bronze-medal game.

"When you look back at a trip like this, winning a bronze medal is pretty special," said Brooks, who plays for the Winnipeg Thrashers in the Manitoba Midget AAA league. "Receiving our medals in front of friends and teammates and people from different countries was really special."

With the Games almost over, many of the athletes from different sports came out to see the all-North American matchup.

Both of the Winnipeggers spoke as highly about the overall experience of representing Canada in an international multi-sport competition as they did about their own successes.

For Brooks, the most memorable moment of the trip was entering the 28,000-seat Bergisel Stadium for the opening ceremony.

"The opening and closing ceremonies were pretty amazing," he said. "When you’re walking in with the rest of the Canadian athletes and hearing them calling out Team Canada, and looking around and seeing 20,000 people around you… it was a big highlight."

Oryniak’s favourite part of the experience was interacting with some of the 1,000-plus athletes from more than 60 countries.

"The athletes from the other countries, they were all so nice," he said. "I made some lifelong friends, who I hope I’ll be able to see all around the world."

The Games also whetted Oryniak’s appetite for possibly competing one day in a full-fledged Olympic Games. His regular curling team, skipped by Kyle Doering, won the provincial junior championship (he had to miss the last two days of the event due to his trip) and is headed to the nationals this month.

"It’s definitely a dream," he said. "The atmosphere there is incredible. To go to an Olympic Games would be awesome."

avi.saper@canstarnews.com