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SportsOakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 201028 Van Beilen strikes gold at Youth Olympic Games By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Tera Van Beilen has always considered herself a strong finisher, so when she hit the turn in the womens 100-metre breast- stroke at the Youth Olympic Games, she knew a gold medal was within her reach. I knew that it was a very close at the first 50 when I turned and saw the other swimmers to my right, the 17 year old said by e-mail from Singapore Wednesday. For the finish I knew that I needed to keep my form and not rush my stroke in order to pick up my speed and pass the other girls. Van Beilen did just that. Second at the turn, she passed Canadian teammate Rachel Nicol down the stretch and held off Australias Emily Selig to win Canadas third gold medal at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. Van Beilens time of one minute, 8.95 seconds got her to the wall 11 one-hundredths of a second ahead of Selig while Nicol took the bronze, finishing less than a quarter of a second off the pace. Winning gold is an amazing experi- ence, Van Beilen said When I touched the wall I was really pleased to see that I won and I was extremely happy with my time. It wasnt a best time, but it was the fastest time Ive done all year. Less than 24 hours later, Van Beilen earned a second medal, helping Canada take a bronze in the womens 4x100m freestyle relay. China won the gold in 3:48.84, Germany was second in 3:49.02 and the Canadian team, which included Nicol, Lindsay Delmar and Lauren Earp, was third, one-tenth of a second behind the silver medalists. Nicol was the favourite heading into the breaststroke final. The Lethbridge, Alta. native posted the fastest time of 1:09.22 in the semifinals while Van Beilen was third in 1:09.93. But she had a good feeling about the butterfly final. I really wanted to medal going into the final, said the Kings Christian Collegiate student. I felt really confident and fast in my warm-up. That confidence paid off as she passed Nicol, who led by seven-one hundredths at the halfway mark. On the second length I got a bit tired and my stroke shortened a bit, Nicol said on the Swim Canada website. Still Im not disappointed especially that Tera also got on the podium. It was a really close race and exciting for all of us. Van Beilen was hoping to make her first trip to the podium after the 4x100m medley relay team missed out on a medal by eight- one hundredths of a second on Monday. The Oakville Aquatics Club member didnt let her second chance pass her by. To stand on the top of the podium and see my flag being raised as the anthem is played is one of the best feelings and I am extremely proud, said Van Beilen, who praised organizers for a well-run event. This experience at the Youth Olympic Games has been incredible and has definite- ly been a highlight of my career. Late charge comes up short, but Shepley confident heading to Open By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Jessica Shepley didnt let go of her Canadian PGA Womens Championship title without a fight. Starting the day seven shots off the pace, Shepley ran off three straight birdies to open the back nine at the Burlington Golf and Country Club Wednesday. That stretch coupled with an early double bogey by first- round leader Laura Bavaird gave Shepley a share of the lead, along with Seema Sadekar. Though Shepley turned in the low round of the day Wednesday, a three-under par 68, Bavaird would recover from her early trou- bles to win the two-day tournament by fin- ishing at six-under par. That gave her a one- stroke victory over Lisa Ferrero, who origi- nally asked her friend to join her at the tour- nament to caddy for her, before Bavaird decided to play herself. S h e p l e y finished the tournament at two-under par, good for third place and a share of top Canadian hon- ours with Sadekar and newly-turned pro Sue Kim. That con- tinued an outstanding year for Shepley on Canadian soil. She won the first stop on CN C a n a d i a n Womens Tour in Richmond, B.C. and then finished second but earned top prize money when she finished behind ama- teur Candace Schepperle at the tours third event in G a t i n e a u , Quebec. Whenever you come home to play and represent your country, its always a little more special, said Shepley, who had the biggest contingent of followers during Wednesdays final round. This weeks performance should help going into Shepley biggest event of the sea- son, the CN Canadian Womens Open at the St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg Aug. 23-29. I feel good going in, Shepley said. I want to go out and enjoy myself and try not to think too much about it. It is our nation- al championship and my first LPGA event this year but I have to stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself. That worked well for Shepley Wednesday. Coming off a one-over 72 in which she bogeyed the final two holes, she came back to vault herself into contention. I just hung in there (in Tuesdays open- ing round). It was nothing special so it was ON LINE: Jessica Shepley lines up a putt in the first round of the Canadian PGA Womens Championship in Burlington. MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER GOLDEN GIRL: Oakville's Tera Van Beilen (left) hugs teammate Rachel Nicol on the podium after winning the gold medal in the women's 100m breaststroke at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore Wednesday. Van Beilen and Nicol teamed up Thursday to earn a bronze medal in the freestyle relay. VIVEK PRAKASH / REUTERS See Shepley page 29