1. Olympic champion Katzberg receives hero’s welcome in Nanaimo, Sept. 26
A golden boy from Nanaimo returned to the city where he grew up to celebrate his Olympic triumph.
Ethan Katzberg won Canada’s first gold medal in hammer throw at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris with a throw of 84.12 metres Aug. 4. He was honoured Sept. 26 at Rotary Bowl stadium.
At the Rotary Bowl ceremony, Mayor Leonard Krog declared Ethan Katzberg Day and christened the hammer throw amenity as the Katzberg Hammer Cage.
Katzberg used to be a member of Nanaimo Track and Field Club, and admitted he never imagined back then the idea of reaching the top of an Olympic podium.
“I approached it slowly, and I built on each day of training, and that was kind of my focus … I went from there and just really fell in love with it and realized that I could make an Olympic team,” he said.
On Dec. 27, Katzberg was voted the Canadian Press Male Athlete of the Year.
2. Nanaimo teen wins national championship in downhill mountain biking, Aug. 23
A Nanaimo teen is a national champion in downhill mountain biking.
Ryder Wilson won the U17 expert division at the Canadian Downhill Mountain Bike Championships Aug. 10-11 at Sun Peaks outside Kamloops.
It was a breakthrough for Wilson, who finished third at nationals in 2022 and second in 2023. In 2024, with nationals at one of his favourite courses, he completed the five-minute course more than nine seconds faster than the runner-up.
“It means so much…” he said. “It was my dream since I started riding that I wanted to do downhill and I wanted to be Canadian champion and the emotions were so overwhelming coming over the line.”
3. Nanaimo hosts B.C. School Sports track and field championships, June 7
Nanaimo’s Rotary Bowl stadium hosted thousands of the best high school track and field athletes in the province as they strived to go faster, higher, stronger and farther.
The B.C. High School Track and Field Championships were held June 6-8.
Six Nanaimo youths won provincial championships that week. Nanaimo District Secondary School’s senior girls’ 4x400-metre relay team of Lydia Paris, Ava Gauthier, Brea Gillette and Haley Martin won gold with a provincials record time of 3:59.78, beating out York House and Oak Bay Secondary. Also, Dover Bay’s Rhys Beaudoin won gold in the junior boys’ 800m final in a time of 1:58.92, and Cedar Secondary’s Carter Cunning won gold in the Grade 8 boys’ 800m in 2:08.67.
4. Final frames have been bowled at Nanaimo’s Brechin Lanes, Oct. 1
The pins have been knocked down at Nanaimo’s Brechin Lanes, and this time, they’re not being set back up.
The five-pin bowling centre’s final day of business was Sept. 29, and the doors are now closed for good at the facility that had operated at the East Wellington Road location since the 1970s.
“It’s been very emotional. I’m not sure I have any tears left,” said owner Ray Brittain. “It’s humbling to know how many people have been through here and have enjoyed their time here and have been welcomed by us and felt like it’s a safe space. It’s been really neat to see.”
5. Nanaimo golfer on top of his game entering tournament season, May 24
Matthew Wilson was a leader with the Wellington Secondary School golf team in the spring before joining his new Weber State University teammates this past fall for his first season of NCAA Div. 1 golf.
Wilson and the Wellington Wildcats golf team won the Vancouver Island high school AAA golf championship May 16 at Gorge Vale Golf Club in Victoria.
Brian Lennox, the team’s coach, said it’s not too common to see a Nanaimo youth earn an NCAA Div. 1 scholarship.
“It’s pretty phenomenal for a kid from here…” Lennox said. “It’s enormously satisfying to see someone getting to their goals, reaching for their goals, and the best is yet to come.”
6. Bowler first woman to score a five-pin perfect game in Nanaimo, Jan. 3
A Nanaimo woman bowled a perfect game, and even though it happened at 3:30 a.m., there was an alley full of bowlers there to cheer her achievement.
Mikayla Eby scored the first-ever perfect game by a female bowler at Brechin Lanes five-pin centre on Dec. 30, 2023, when she scored a 450 during the John Brittain Classic overnight tournament.
There were only five perfect games in the alley’s 45-year history and none in the past 10 years.
“I was very excited, ecstatic,” Eby said. “I’ve never seen a perfect game being thrown either. At first I didn’t believe that I had actually done it.”
7. Nanaimo race walker qualifies for Olympics, April 23
Olivia Lundman collapsed at the end of her Olympic qualifying race in Antalya, Turkey, having given it all she had. And it was enough. She and Evan Dunfee qualified to represent Canada in Paris.
The Lantzville woman, who grew up competing with the Nanaimo Track and Field Club, said at the time she looked forward to being part of Team Canada with her former Nanaimo Track and Field Club teammate, hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg.
“I hope all the other athletes in Nanaimo … are inspired to chase after their dreams,” Lundman said. “Because Ethan and I were in their places not even 10 years ago, and we had the same dreams and goals as they did and now here we are, achieving them.”
8. Remarkable scores carded on Nanaimo’s golf courses, Sept. 20
Golf season in Nanaimo concluded with a number of important tournaments.
At the Nanaimo Golf Club, the 2024 Nanaimo Men’s Amateur was won by young star Matthew Wilson. Meanwhile, in the 70th Nanaimo Women’s Amateur, Nanaimo’s Kassie Muanyam won a playoff for top spot.
The Nanaimo Golf Club’s men’s club champion was T.J. Prisnie, while Sandy Harper was first in the senior and super senior divisions. In the women’s club championship, low gross champ was Maria Schwager, senior women’s champion was Jan Jarvie, and super senior women’s champ was Gwen Cleave.
From Cottonwood Golf Course, the club championships were won by April Mathers, who won low gross titles in the ladies, senior ladies and super senior ladies divisions; Luke Skingle, who won the men’s championship; and Gary Turner, the senior and super senior gross champ.
9. Former Nanaimo Clippers star scores first NHL goal, Jan. 24
A former Nanaimo Clippers sniper and fan favourite scored his first NHL goal.
Sheldon Rempal scored a power-play goal Jan. 23 to help his Vegas Golden Knights defeat the New York Islanders by a 3-2 score at New York’s UBS Arena. Rempal’s wrist shot from the right faceoff circle went off the far-side post and in past goalie Ilya Sorokin seven minutes into the second period.
“It’s something I’ve thought about my whole life and something that I never knew was going to be obtainable,” Rempal told reporters after the game.
10. Selection of sports and games revealed for 55-Plus B.C. Games in Nanaimo, Dec. 7
The selection of games and sports has been announced for the 55-Plus B.C. Games set for Nanaimo next summer.
The 55-Plus B.C. Games from Sept. 9-13 will feature archery, badminton, bocce, five-pin bowling, carpet bowling, cribbage, curling, cycling, darts, disc golf, eight-ball, equestrian, five-pin bowling, golf, hockey, horseshoes, lawn bowling, mountain bike racing, pickleball, slo-pitch, snooker, soccer, swimming, table tennis, tennis, and track and field.
The games are expected to attract more than 2,500 athletes.
