Prince George athletes Marinka VanHage and David Dunn will be competing at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games from Feb. 27 to March 2 in Calgary.
The games will see athletes with intellectual disabilities from across the country come together to compete in alpine skiing, cross country skiing, curling, floor hockey, figure skating, speed skating and snowshoeing.
Marinka and David are competing in the snowshoe races, which are similar to track athletes’ races around a 400 metre track.
Marinka is a sprinter taking on the 100m, 200m and her best event the 400m.
David is more of an endurance racer who is the best in BC for his 1600m and he also competes in the 400m and 800m races.
“David has been training really, really hard,” Coach Wilma VanHage said. “David just keeps going. He has limitless energy.”
David takes the guidance offered to him very seriously. He has taken his coaches’ advice about how to optimize his health with good nutrition as he continued training on dry land in the summer and on racing snowshoes in the winter leading up to the national competition.
“I’m pretty excited to go to nationals,” David said.
The snowshoers have an opportunity to go to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in March 2025, in Torino, Italy.
Marinka went to the world championships in 2009, Wilma, her mom and coach added.
“It’s an incredible competition,” Wilma said.
Marinka has been training hard leading up to the Nationals and her strongest race is the 400m.
“Slow and steady wins the race,” Wilma said.
“I feel good,” Marinka said.
There are five Prince George athletes competing at the Nationals this year. Along with Marinka and David, Lance Pattinson is a five-pin bowler and Spencer Rourke and Sam Russell are curlers all competing at the elite competition.
