Locals off to Nova Scotia for Summer Games

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

Three of the finest local athletes have made their way to the Maritimes with dreams of bringing home gold at the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games.
Scott Pagenkopf, Emma Bittorf and Justin Thompson all qualified in the past year for the games, which started July 31 in Antigonish, N.S.
Pagenkopf, 25, was the first to qualify after he won gold in powerlifting during the Alberta Summer Games July 7 to 9, 2017, in Medicine Hat.
Pagenkopf, a Gleichen product, walked away with gold after claiming first place in the squat with a lift of 155-kilograms (kg), bench-pressing 110 kg and deadlifting 225 kg.
“This is going to be an awesome event and a really fun one,” said Pagenkopf. “I’m going to go out there and try to come back with some gold medals.”
The local lifter will be competing in the male 145 kg-plus division. Pagenkopf’s competition was one of the first to get underway in Nova Scotia, as his competition took place Aug. 1. He is one of four members representing Team Alberta at the national event.
When the competition starts, Pagenkopf will have nine total lifts in the bench press, deadlift and squat, to determine a national champion.
Joining Pagenkopf in Nova Scotia is the youngest athlete on Team Alberta in Emma Bittorf.
Bittorf, 15, who began golfing four years ago, has already ascended through the provincial ranks and finished first at the Summer Games in Medicine Hat last summer after carding a 67 and a 56.
“I’m really looking forward to this week. I’m going to have some family there along with all my friends on Team Alberta. I’m going to try and win gold,” said Bittorf.
Entering Grade 10 at Strathmore High School, Bittorf got into the sport through the encouragement of her family. Since then, she has taken to it like a natural and has put in a lot of work to get ready for the national tournament.
This past winter, Bittorf exercised plenty to get into her best shape and received great support from the Strathmore Golf Club in the pursuit of her goals.
“Brian Bassen and everyone at the Golf Club have really gotten behind Emma this past year with support. Once she qualified, they gave her access to the driving range and a couple rounds of golf,” said Emma’s father, Darren.
The right-handed golfer hopes her short game travels with her to Nova Scotia and has the comfort of knowing she can pound it down the fairway with her Big Dog driver. Emma is one of two girls on the seven-man team representing Alberta.
The golf tournament started Wednesday, Aug. 1, and wraps up Aug. 3. She will be competing in the open-aged female division.
The third local athlete to make the cross-country trip for the national tournament is Thompson, a swimmer who won gold in the 25-metre (m) breaststroke and silver in the 25 m backstroke, 50 m backstroke, 50 m freestyle and 50 m breaststroke during last summer’s summer games.
Thompson was one of the 101 Alberta athletes that converged on the University of Alberta campus earlier in June for a team-bonding weekend, while also preparing one final time in their specific sports.
The 19-year-old Thompson is swimming from Aug. 1 to Aug. 4 in different events.
All events can be viewed on livestream through the Special Olympic website as the three locals go for gold and a chance to represent their country at the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi, of the United Arab Emirates.