Abbotsford’s Michael Frew made quite the debut at the Penticton BC Winter Games, which concluded on Sunday.
The gymnast took home seven medals, surprising even himself in the process.
Everything went right for the Grade 8 MEI (Mennonite Educational Institute) student.
Frew won gold in rings and all-around; silver in horizontal bar, pommel horse, and gymnastics floor exercise; and bronze in parallel bars.
“I was partly surprised by how well I did in the rings but mostly the floor because that’s not exactly my strong point,” he said, noting he has suffered injuries in floor competitions in the past.
“I hit all my jumps at the Games and everything went exactly as planned. It feels pretty cool to win so many medals. I never thought I would get so many.”
Frew began competing in the sport at the age of eight, and joined Abbotsford’s Twisters Gymnastics about four and a half years ago. He said Twisters has helped him develop as an athlete.
“I really enjoy Twisters,” he said. “The coaches are really nice, and they push you, but not in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable.”
He said he enjoys the freedom and learning involved with gymnastics.
“It feels cool to flip around,” he said. “But I also like being able to learn new skills, and not just doing the same thing over and over again.”
Frew said his goal is to compete nationally, and potentially internationally, but he just wants to do his best and continue to have fun in the sport.
Frew was one of several locals who earned medals at the event, which ran from Feb. 25 to 28. Abbotsford athletes taking home medals included:
– Ethan Algra, biathlon: gold in sprint boys junior and gold in super sprint boys junior
– Isabelle Harris, judo: gold in under 63 kg women
– Jeremy Filiatrault, gymnastics: bronze in gymnastics rings
– Turner Cyr, judo: bronze in under 55 kg men
– Karissa Comeau, judo: bronze in under 52 kg women
Team medal winners were:
– Frew and Filiatrault, gymnastics: gold in male division
– Carlos Perez and Ben Garrett, wheelchair basketball: gold in mixed division
– Cyr, Comeau, Mintaj Brar and Payton Harris, judo: silver in mixed division
– Kim Bonneau, curling: bronze in girls division
For complete results from the event, visit bcgames.org.