Team Canada continues to aim for Top 3 finish at Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games

Jessica Zelinka celebrates her silver medal in heptathlon

DELHI, India (October 9, 2010) – Heading into the second half of the competition at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, Team Canada is still aiming for a top three overall finish.

With 50 medals, including 17 gold, Canada currently holds down fourth place, eight medals behind the host country, currently sitting in third with 58 medals.

“The team is in great spirits and continues to focus on performance,” said Martha Deacon, Team Canada’s Chef de Mission. “The venues really are spectacular and things are running reasonably smoothly here. Our support team has been fantastic, doing so much to keep our athletes healthy and in a good competitive frame of mind.”

Deacon also acknowledged the outstanding performance of the host country, which has been very competitive in a number of sports. “India has demonstrated through the first half of these Games that it really is a force to be reckoned with.”

Scott Stevenson, Director of Sport for Commonwealth Games Canada, added that Canadian results so far have been on target. “We’ve witnessed some outstanding performances and the nine gold medals for Canada on Day 4, followed by 15 medals on Day 5 were both huge. But we’re definitely in a tough battle with India for that third spot overall.”

Stevenson noted there have been few surprises for Canada at the Games so far. “The Canadian athletes we expected to turn in top performances have done that, with very few exceptions,” he said. “Looking ahead to the second half of the competition, we’re expecting many more podium performances.”

Stevenson says Canadians can look forward to multiple medal celebrations over the last five days of competition. “We expect to see Canada’s medal total climb substantially,” he said.

The 19th Commonwealth Games wrap up Thursday in Delhi with the closing ceremony.

Jackie DeSouza
Press Chief, Team Canada Delhi 2010
011 91 783 850 4117
media@commonwealthgames.ca

Derek Johnston
Commonwealth Games Canada Communications
(613) 837-3377
derek@face-value.ca