Four athletes, one club, 11 gold medals.
It all adds up to a memorable performance by members of the Surrey Gymnastics Society (SGS) at the Western Canadian Championships last weekend in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
Two of the four gymnasts from SGS are now Western Canada champions. And as a group, the four combined for a total of 14 medals in team and individual competition, 11 of which were gold.
“It is extremely impressive for four boys to head off to a regional championship and come home with 11 gold medals (two team and nine individual),” said John Carroll, competitive head coach at SGS.
Malcolm Herbert and Hyugo Ishida won all around gold in their respective age groups.
Herbert, 14, won in the National Youth category. The Sullivan Heights Secondary student qualified for five of the six event finals while topping the all around standings. On day two of the competition, he added three more gold medals to the all around title, placing first on rings, bars and parallel bars event finals. Herbert was also fifth on high bar and sixth on pommel horse, and was a member of the Youth/Open combined provincial team which also won gold.
Two 13-year-olds from SGS were in the Level 4 Open group, with Ishida capturing the all around title and Aidan Wilson placing fourth in his first trip to a Western Canadian meet. Both earned gold medals as part of the provincial squad which topped the team standings.
Ishida qualified for four event finals, and won gold on pommel horse, rings and vault. The North Delta resident also won silver on high bar.
Wilson was in five event finals, earning silver medals on floor and pommel horse. The Surrey resident just missed adding to his medal count on rings, vault and parallel bars, placing fourth in each event.
Qualifying for three event finals, Nicolas Apostol placed seventh all around in the High Performance Argo category. The Ridgeview Elementary student won a gold medal on vault, and placed fourth on rings and parallel bars.