Nunavut has won its first ever gold medal at the Canada Summer Games. In the men’s 52 kilogram wrestling division in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Eekeeluak Clarence Avalak of Cambridge Bay reached the top of the podium, and as a result made history.
Avalak beat Zubin Gatta of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario 5-0 in one of two semifinals. He then beat silver medalist Fred Calingay of Calgary, Alberta in the gold medal bout 3-1. Gatta won the bronze medal after beating Tristan Sears of Lery, Quebec 4-0.
According to Avery Zingel of CBC News, only once before has Nunavut won a medal at the Canada Games. At the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon, Eugene Dedrick won the bronze medal in judo.
Also on Thursday, the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island won their first gold medals at the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara Falls. In the men’s 200 metre individual medley para swimming competition, Jesse Canney of Durham Bridge won the gold medal. Canney suffers from autism. Prince Edward Island’s gold medal came from Vanessa Keefe of Charlottetown in the women’s 69 kilogram female division.
Ontario leads the overall medal standings with 77 medals (34 gold, 19 silver and 24 bronze). British Columbia is in second place with 60 medals.
