Team NT won its first medal of the 2023 North American Indigenous Games on Tuesday as Inuvik middle-distance runner Kohl McDonald took bronze in the U14 male 800m.
“I’m feeling good so far but the race was hard, it was hot and long,” McDonald said. “I was hoping to get on the podium and I was happy with my race.”
He took third place in a time of 2:25.53. Alberta’s Haston Pawluski won gold in 2:17.60 ahead of New Mexico’s second-placed Darius Cajero in 2:21.37.
The NWT’s Kyren Poitras finished 11th.
Humidity and heat have been a battle all week for athletes gathered in Kjipuktuk (Halifax) and the surrounding area. Atlantic Canada is facing what some meteorologists have described as an extraordinarily prolonged spell of humid weather, timed to coincide with the Games.
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Also at the track, Abygail McDonald finished fifth in her 800m event while Carolynn Ferguson, Tessa Santos, Storm Cabell-White, Kowen Modeste and Ethan Boucher all had top-15 finishes over 80m. Marlin Miersch-King and Rylie McDonald each reached the top 10 in discus.
In volleyball, the NWT female team pulled off a dramatic 15-13 win in the final set to defeat Team Eastern Door and the North. The male team lost to Newfoundland and Labrador.
At the basketball complex, the NWT’s male team comfortably defeated New Brunswick in an impressive 61-24 victory. The female team lost to British Columbia.
In soccer, the male team battled to a 3-0 defeat by Saskatchewan. The NWT’s female soccer team was defeated by Alberta.
Archery qualification continues on Wednesday, as do badminton and golf, while swimming begins.
