Jillian Young of Liverpool celebrates after winning the gold in her 200-metre snowshoe race at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy. (Special Olympics Canada)

Queens County athletes are once again at the top of the world podium.

Jillian Young and Rebecca Delaney of Liverpool captured gold this week at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Sestriere.

Young was the first to win gold on Thursday in the snowshoe 200-metre F15 final. And Delaney won gold on Friday as part of the 4 x 100-metre relay snowshoe team.

Susan Inglis, who is also Delaney’s mother, is one of the Team Canada snowshoe coaches in Italy for the games.

“It’s really amazing like the talent that is here and to see them compete on the world stage and do that well is just amazing.”

Young and Delaney are part of the 90-athlete-strong Team Canada at the games in Turin and Sestriere. And they contributed to Canada’s 76-medal haul.

Bridgewater’s Nick Skoreyko and Chloe Stoddart are the other athletes from Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens competing in Italy. Skoreyko finished fifth in both of his snowshoe races. And Stoddart claimed bronze in 500-metre cross-country skiing.

Delaney also placed fourth and fifth in two other races, while Young finished sixth in her other race.

Delaney’s gold-medal-winning relay team has the fastest time in the world and Skoreyko was also in the fastest heat among male athletes.

“Pretty big deal to go and represent your country,” Inglis said.

“The medals are the icing on the cake, but the cake is still pretty good, pretty impressive. And they are here in Italy in these beautiful mountains with people from all over the world and they’re showcasing their talents here and they have done all so well that it’s almost hard to believe that they can be in the Top 10 in the world.

“This little town of Liverpool can put out some pretty cool, amazing athletes.”

Inglis said Delaney’s relay was run in the middle of a blizzard on the mountain.

“I had no idea what was happening on those relays until they got around to the 100-metre mark becuase you couldn’t see.”

Inglis said every athlete achieved a personal best in their sport.

“If you’re beating your personal best times, which they’ve all done, that’s amazing in itself too.

“For Rebecca and Nick, they’ve been training for a good nine months. And the minimum that they’ve had to train was three times a week, so they’re improved their performance by all that training.”

Another important aspect of the games is meeting other competitors from Canada and around the world. Inglis said the experience will only help set up the Lunenburg and Queens athletes for even more success.

“I think that they now see waht opprotunities are out there for them. And if they work really hard, train really hard that they can continue to go to national games and maybe get to go to another world games.”

As for herself, Inglis says she’s learned a lot from other coaches, lessons she’ll put into practice when she returns to Nova Scotia.

“It gives me that knowledge to bing back and share in nova scotia, not just within luen queens but with some of the other coaches in nova scotia that do snowshoeing as well.

“It’s fantastic. I’ve never met a Special Olympic athlete I haven’t fallen in love with. And this has just opened up a  new world to me because in Lunenburg Queens we have a limited group of athletes and I’ve been working with them for quite a few years but now I know athletes from all over the country. It’s been wonderful.”

Saturday is the last day of competition at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin. And then it’s the closing ceremonies Saturday night.

After that, Inglis says she hopes to take a few weeks off before resuming training for the Nova Scotia Special Olympics provincial summer games in July.

“It just was an overall amazing experience. I’m exhausted and looking forward to getting back home to my own bed and animals and things, but it’s been overall an amazing experience.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Canadian shot put thrower Sarah Mitton throws during the group A qualification round during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in July 2021. (Photo by Mark Blinch/COC)

With the Summer Olympics just over a month away, anticipation is building for fans of Queens County Olympian and world champion Sarah Mitton.

And to show support for Brooklyn’s best-known athlete, the Region of Queens is organizing a video tribute to send to Mitton to cheer her on as she goes for shotput gold in Paris.

The municipality is calling on people to record a video that’s 10 seconds or less. They’ll edit all the videos into one and send it to Mitton as she prepares for the Olympics.

The region’s mayor Darlene Norman is organizing her own video tribute on Saturday morning near her home in Port Medway.

“I’m hopeful that many people will show up from Port, neighbouring communities and perhaps some other places,” Norman said Thursday.

Norman’s video will be recorded at the village’s lighthouse park near the wharf at 9 a.m..

“I’d encourage people if they have any of the Sarah signs left from the last Olympics to bring them along. If they want to bring a big poster, if they want to wear bright clothing, just bring your happy spirit to send Sarah some great words.”

Mitton captured gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March. She beat her own Canadian record, twice, at the world championship.

She won Canada’s first-ever world medal in women’s shot put with her silver at the Budapest games in 2023. And she is a Commonwealth Games champion and Pan American Games champion.

She recently won gold at the USATF New York City Grand Prix.

Mitton, who turned 28 on Thursday, is getting ready for the Canadian track and field trials coming up at the end of June in Montreal.

She talked to QCCR in March just after winning the world indoor gold medal.

“I’ve had my eye on Paris for two years at least,” Mitton said. “And everything we’ve been doing in the last two years is a part of our preparation.”

Norman says Mitton is an inspiration to many people.

“I’ve always admired her. She’s so well spoken and she’s such a good representative for Queens County and Nova Scotia and Canada. And she’s from Brooklyn. Think about it. We had no fancy track facilities, we just had volunteer teachers who coached, and Sarah stood out and shone, found what she loves and pursued it. And I think that’s such an excellent role model for anyone in any walk of life.”

Even if they can’t make it to Port Medway on Saturday morning, Norman encourages people to make their own videos.

“Get together in your own community, get together with your family, your friends, send a solo video. Just take part and send Sarah Mitton a cheer, a hello, a good luck, a ‘we’re so proud of you’, whatever message people like to make.”

The region is accepting videos by email until July 2. You can send them to cheersfromhome@regionofqueens.com. All videos must be no longer than 10 seconds.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, Queens County, after winning the gold medal in the shot put at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow on Friday morning. (Sarah Mitton photo)

Brooklyn’s Sarah Mitton can now add world champion to her already long list of accomplishments.

The Olympic shot putter from Queens County captured the gold medal Friday morning at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

“Incredible. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” she said in an interview via Zoom from Glasgow shortly after her win. 

“I’ve just been up in the top but never really on top at a world championship and now I’ve done three outdoor worlds and this is my second indoor worlds so it’s been a long time coming, so it’s just really sweet.”

Mitton beat her own Canadian record, twice: once with her fourth throw at 20.20 metres, which secured the gold medal. And then, she beat her own record again with her sixth and last throw of 20.22 metres. That was also a season’s best.

“The last one was really fun because when you’re in the lead you get to be the last thrower,” she said. “And so we know what third is, the only person that can overtake you is this girl in second. She doesn’t do it and then you’re standing there and you still have one attempt and you know you’ve just won a world indoor championships which is kind of surreal because you’re just flooded with emotion. 

“And so I stood there and I had goosebumps all over my legs and I was like, ‘OK. But you still have one more attempt to make a mark and have a better throw and just increase your lead.’ I really love the sixth round. It’s the last throw of the (competition), particularly this one where it’s the very last throw of the comp and it’s just really free. Like it didn’t matter if I threw 10 metres, it didn’t matter if I threw 25, I was still gonna be the champion so I think it opens the door for a really relaxed fun throw.”

German athlete Yemeni Ogunleye captured silver with a personal best throw of 20.19 metres. American Chase Jackson won bronze with a throw of 19.67 metres. 

Mitton said that making her first world indoor final in 2022 and throwing more than 19 metres for the first time at a championship really boosted her confidence. And that set her up for the success she’s had ever since.

She is ranked No. 2 in the world in the shot put. She won Canada’s first ever world medal in women’s shot put with her silver at the Budapest games in 2023. And she is a Commonwealth Games champion and Pan American Games champion.

She set a new Canadian indoor record just last week in the Czech Republic with a throw of 20.08 metres. Her personal best is 20.33 metres.

“I had usually underperformed from what I was usually capable of at these majors and I think it really just opened my eyes to be able to believe in myself that hey you’re now amongst these girls. You can break into their world. And from there, it just seems to have skyrocketed.”

And she’s been doing it all with bone chips in her right elbow. 

“My right arm takes a big brunt of the throw every time. And a lot of the girls struggle with elbow issues and of course the older you get, the more speed and force that gets put through your elbow.

“Thankfully we’ve been able to manage that from a non-surgical perspective for now and everything’s been good. … Thankfully, that’s been much better than last season, so I think that’s why I might be seeing a little bit more success indoors than I did last year.”

While her family didn’t make the trip to Glasgow for the short weekend competition, they will all be in Paris for the Summer Olympics in August.

In Glasgow, she had her coach and his wife and the rest of the Canadian team cheering her on.

“She’s been a big part of my career. She’s very involved. She just brings a really good, fun energy. She’s always the loudest person in the stadium and I can hear her from a mile away. But it’s been really fun to have her here.”

She says that having this breakthrough in Glasgow sets her up nicely for the Olympics.

“I’ve had my eye on Paris for two years at least. And everything we’ve been doing in the last two years is a part of our preparation, the same thing with this championships. This was a big part and I think right now, everything’s working, everything’s coming together.”

Mitton has a few meets coming up in China and Morocco, before returning to Canada to begin high-performance training. Then there are the national championships at the end of June, before heading to Barcelona to train and prepare for the Olympics.

Before any of that, though, she’ll be taking a week off and coming home to Liverpool to visit friends and family. And she may even pop into the gym at Queens Place Emera Centre when she’s home.

“I’m excited to see everybody,” she says. “I think it’s always fun walking into Queens Place. It can be really overwhelming, because it’s a lot of people I grew up with. It’s a lot of friends and family, but it’s also just been really great. When you show up, you know everybody and it just feels like home.

“I just want to thank everyone so much for the support. I know the flood of that comes from Liverpool and Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, and all through the East Coast. But I’m working my best to get back to everyone, but I will see you all when I get home. And I just really appreciate all the messages and the support.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to QCCR’s interview with Sarah Mitton below