(Edit: beach volleyball scores updated)
(Further edit: basketball scores updated)
(Further edit: updated to reflect Leo Konge's second bronze medal, quotes from Konge and Jane Mooney and boys basketball score)
Day 2 of the Western Canada Summer Games in Swift Current, Sask., for Team NT has proven to be a good one in the pool.
Leo Konge of Yellowknife was the territory's first medalist of these Games as he won himself bronze in the boys 100-metre butterfly on Saturday in a time of 1:02.33. He then went out in the boys 200-metre butterfly later in the day and made it double bronze by finishing third in a time of 2:22.00.
The podium finish was the first of any kind for the NWT since the 2011 Games when the territory won three medals: one silver and two bronze.
Konge said the results surprised even him.
"My race (Sunday) morning wasn't the best but I managed to do it," he said.
The medalists were determined based on the three fastest times from all the heats, which is different from a standard swim meet where the heats determine who advances to the final. Each swimmer was placed into a heat based on a seed time submitted prior to the start of the event. Konge won the 100-metre bronze in the final heat, where he was seeded third, while his 200-metre bronze saw him win heat no. 2.
"The 200-metre hasn't been my best race this season," said Konge. "I was going downhill and I wasn't dropping any time but this race, I dropped two seconds and I'm super happy about that."
Someone else who was happy was Jane Mooney, the swim team's head coach.
She said it's been a long and hard summer but it all paid off with the results in the pool.
Elsewhere, the soccer teams were back in action as both the boys and girls teams took on Manitoba in their second games of the competition. The girls had a better result on Sunday but still fell by a score of 2-0. The boys are on the pitch at 5:30 p.m. and the result will be updated when it becomes available.
The boys and girls basketball were on court for their first games respectively against Saskatchewan. The girls were able to hang tough for three quarters but ended up falling by a score of 72-44 while the boys were on the wrong end of a 64-51 decision.
In terms of Nunavut, the boys and girls beach volleyball competition got underway on Sunday with both teams in action. The girls duo of Emily-Ann Niego of Iqaluit and Talia Grant of Rankin Inlet started against Manitoba Gold and were beaten in straight sets but came back strong to take Saskatchewan White to three sets before losing the tiebreak, 15-6
The boys squad of Brent Puqiqnak of Gjoa Haven and Ian McDonald of Iqaluit also played Manitoba Gold and dropped their opener in two close sets. Alberta Grey was the next opponent for the guys and that, too, ended in a straight-set loss.