Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate three northern athletes on their recent achievements in competitions at the national level.
Jeremy Jaud is a competitive swimmer from Yellowknife who has just completed his first year at the University of Victoria. A former member of the Yellowknife Polar Bear Swim Club, Jeremy received a swimming scholarship to Manitoba in 1994-95. This past year, he moved to the University of Victoria where he has been training six days a week for a chance to become a member of the national swim team and to qualify for the Canadian Olympic swim team.
At the Canadian Olympic swimming trials held in Montreal, March 30th to April 4th, Jeremy reached the finals and placed seventh in the 200-metre individual medley and 10th in the 100-metre breast-stroke. Joining the finals in the 200-metre breast-stroke means that he has three other chances to reach the Olympic qualifying time, in meets coming up in Phoenix, Vancouver and North Carolina.
Mr. Speaker, this is the first time an NWT athlete has qualified for a final in an Olympic trial in nearly 20 years. Our last Olympic athletes were, of course, Shirley and Sharon Firth in cross-country skiing.
The second of our northern athletes is Justin Brown, a 16-year-old wrestler who attends St. Patrick's High School here in Yellowknife. After earning three silver medals at the Arctic Winter Games in March, Justin won a bronze medal in the 46-kilogram division at the national junior wrestling championships held in Regina in April.
Justin is described by his coaches as a mature athlete, who is dedicated to his sport and has a strong work ethic. His coaches believe that Justin has the potential to make the national team some day.
A final athlete, David McCann, is a short-track speedskater and a grade 12 student from Yellowknife. He attends school at the National Sport School in Calgary, and trains at the Olympic oval. David skated previously for the Yellowknife Speedskating Club and had impressive performances competing for the NWT at the 1994 and 1996 Arctic Winter Games.
In the Canadian short-track speedskating championships in Red Deer, March 29th to 31th, David placed first overall in the intermediate men's category. A week later, he received a bronze medal in the 1,500 metre finals and the 777-metre event at the North American championships held in Calgary. He was also fourth in the 1,000 metre and fifth in the 3,000 metre at this competition.
Mr. Speaker, it is not often that athletes from the Northwest Territories achieve such significant results in the sporting world. While our aim should always be to promote a broad base of participation in sport, we should recognize the dedication and hard work of these three athletes in pursuing their goals in sport; to be the best they can at national and international levels.
Mr. Speaker, all NWT residents can be proud of the accomplishments of Jeremy Jaud, Justin Brown and David McCann. I am sure Members will join me in congratulating them on their success, and wishing them the best of luck in their future endeavours. Thank you.
--- Applause