Manitoba speedskater earns silver in 1,500

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This article was published 21/02/2023 (928 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A seriously jet-lagged Sofia Bieber was still soaring to begin her 2023 Canada Winter Games experience in Prince Edward Island.

Bieber sped her way to a silver medal in the women’s 1,500-metre long-track speed skating event Tuesday, raising Manitoba’s medal count to two through three days of competition.

“It feels amazing to start off the competition week with a medal,” said Bieber, who also served as the province’s flag bearer for the opening ceremonies.

The 17-year-old had designs on the gold, however, the balmy weather in Atlantic Canada softened the track, creating unfavourable race conditions for all athletes.

“I feel like that affected my race as well as everyone else’s,” she said.

Yet, not even a tough track and a cross-country flight could prevent the Winnipeg product from taking home some hardware.

Just days before the multi-sport event began, Bieber was competing at the world junior championships in Inzell, Germany. That came on the heels of a first-place finish at the Canadian junior long-track championships in Quebec City.

While she entered the Games as one of the hottest skaters in the country, Bieber’s schedule has left her skating on fumes at times.

“I did feel like I was carrying a ton of momentum (into the Games). But I also had a really long travel week this week. I got back from Germany less than a week ago, (spent) a couple of days in Winnipeg and then had to get on a nine-hour flight here again,” Beiber said.

While Bieber tries to catch up on some sleep, she has four other events to prepare for, including the 500m and team pursuit events today, and the 1,000m and 3,000m races later in the week.

“I think this first event was great and hopefully (the momentum) is going to carry over into my other Canada Games events,” Bieber said.

Her medal was the second captured by Manitoba athletes so far. Winnipeg’s Victoria Lee and Grace Qi navigated their way through some fierce competition to capture a silver medal in the table tennis female doubles event on Monday.

“It was really exciting to see the other provinces and also to play with all of them. I think me and Grace played pretty well together. Our teamwork and everything, that’s how we got to the final,” Lee, 14, told the Free Press Tuesday. “I’m really happy about that.”

“We tried our hardest,” 15-year-old Qi added about falling 3-1 to Ontario in the championship. “Nothing disappointing, nothing to feel bad about. We tried our best.”

If the prairie pair wasn’t on the radar entering the games, it is now. Lee is the top-ranked U13 player in the country, while Qi has already enjoyed success on the big stage, placing second in the team event at nationals last year.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam