A pair of Flin Flon wrestlers will be returning home from the Canada Games with medals.
Brothers Hunter and Carson Lee both stepped onto the podium after standout performances during this week's wrestling heats. Hunter won a gold medal in the men's 98-kilogram classification, while Carson won silver in the men's 76-kilogram classification.
Both rolled through the qualification round, earning byes to their classificiation's semi-finals after going undefeated in a series of team duels.
Hunter faced Saskatchewan's Austin Shupa in his semi-final bout on Friday morning, defeating him 4-0 on grand superiority and making his way to the gold medal match. Carson punched his ticket to a gold medal shot after taking down PEI's Jesse Heartz 4-1 on technical superiority.
Each faced formidable foes in their gold medal matchups: Carson faced off against Alberta's Adam Thomson, while Hunter wrestled Kyle Jordon of Ontario.
Carson narrowly lost to Thomson after a spectacular bout, losing 3-1 in a decision on points.
Later, Hunter hit the mat against Jordon. It didn't take long for Hunter to earn the victory, taking a 4-0 win on grand superiority in less than three minutes.
The medals will add to an already-crowded trophy chest for the pair. Hunter will add his gold to a bronze medal from last year's United World Wrestling Pan-American Championship, while Carson's silver medal will join another silver he earned at Pan-Ams earlier this year. The pair have also earned a litany of provincial and national honours.
Flin Flon's third entrant in the Games, wrestler Keelan Salamondra, overcame a tough start and won a placement bout in the 85-kilogram division against Andrew Tucker of Nunavut.
The Reminder will have further coverage in our August 16 edition.
