Male athletes from the host city were prominent on the medal podium at the conclusion of the 2012 BC Summer Games beach volleyball competition at South Surrey Athletic Park.
The team of Surrey’s Irvan Brar and Kris McCrea of Port Moody took first place, and for both players, it was their second gold medal in two years at a B.C. Games event. The two were part of the Fraser Valley indoor volleyball team which won gold in Langley in 2010.
“If you have passion for a sport, you can always succeed,” said Brar. “These are big events but we have to stay focused and perform the way we should perform.”
Brar praised the play of the silver medalists – the all-Surrey pairing of Chris Wilson and Devin Dunn, who were also part of the Fraser Valley indoor team two years ago before finding success on the sand.
“I’m good at blocking,” said Wilson. “I’m the big tall guy and Devon is the technical guy and picks up pretty much everything and goes hard. Big block and speedy defender – it works well.”
A fourth Surrey resident, Jake Hagen, shared the bronze medal with Mathew Guidi of Coquitlam.
“Third place means a lot to us,” said Hagen. “We’re going out with a win.”
n Antonie Klerck won a pair of gold medals for the Fraser Valley zone. The Surrey diver posted high scores on both the 1 metre and 3 metre boards, edging Vancouver’s Oleg Correa in both events.
n Delta’s Michael Milic, 14, won all three events to win the triathlon gold medal.
“I thought my transitions weren’t as good as they should be, but my bike kept me in (the race) and I had a good run,” he said. “Overall, it was a solid race, and a great experience being able to participate in an event like the Summer Games.”
Milic trailed only Ross Graham as the two got off their bikes and began a three-kilometre run to the finish. Milic, noting after the race he is better on foot than on wheels, made a smooth transition and went on to take the lead.
“Transitions are really important,” said Milic. “If you don’t have a good one, you’re going to lose seconds you won’t be able to get back and never catch anyone in front of you.”
- with files from Fatima Beatty and Kelly Rumley