Steinbach bids farewell to Manitoba Games

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/08/2016 (2811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steinbach bid farewell to the 2016 Manitoba Summer Games on Saturday, with a fitting Closing Ceremonies marking the end of the weeklong event, that by every measure, was the best Manitoba Games ever.

But before the send off, gold medal games were held in softball, volleyball and soccer and Eastman athletes cashed in big time winning three gold medals, including both soccer gold and another gold in male volleyball.

In the volleyball final at the SRSS, Eastman swept Westman two straight in the gold medal match, winning by scores of 25-21, 26-24. Interlake defeated Winnipeg Gold 2-1 in the female volleyball final at Clearspring Middle School.

But the most dramatic events of the day occurred at the soccer pitch where well over a 1,000 fans saw Eastman capture both gold medals.

First it was the Eastman female squad that defeated Interlake 3-0 to win gold.

Then all attention was turned to the male final as Eastman and Westman were locked in a dramatic championship game and it was Eastman that eventually emerged victorious, winning 3-2 on penalties.

Tied 1-1 after regulation time, both teams scored in the 15-minute overtime, first Westman and then Eastman tied it late in the overtime period as the Eastman fans erupted in unison as the thrilling gold medal match played out and Eastman eventually won in penalty kicks.

In female softball, the gold medal game between Central and Interlake, played at an extremely high level, saw Central pull it out by a narrow 7-5 margin. Interlake had the bases loaded when Central got the final out.

Eastman finished fifth in the final medal standings with 66 medals in all. Those three gold medals on the final day pushed their gold medal total to 19 for the week, together with 23 silver and 24 bronze.

Winnipeg Blue won the medal race with 104 medals, followed by Winnipeg Gold at 95 and then Central at 90. Central won the most gold medals of any region with 40.

Virden will host the next Manitoba Games, the Winter Games of 2018.