Yukoners struck gold on the opening day of 2024 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games competition Wednesday.

The big winners were Darby "Padraig" McIntyre and Owen Munroe in the cross country skiing 5 km classic finals.

According to a Special Olympics press release, McIntyre, competing in the M1 classification, won gold in 17:38.40, finishing over four minutes ahead of the second-place finisher.

Munroe, competing in M3, took gold in 26:18.40, fending off the competition less than one minute behind.

Meanwhile, Ernest Chua finished the 500 metre in 2:04.30, and was placed in division M2 for today's final.

Chau also placed in division M2 for Friday's final in the 1 km with a time of 5:38.50.

There was an opening ceremony for curling at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The afternoon saw the Yukon Curling Team (Carrie Rudolph, Brandle Bruneau, Edward Kaye, Gaetan Michaud) play their opening matches in the very tough Division 2 at the impressive North Hill Community Curling Club. They lost two challenging matches:

Ontario (Ottawa) 13, Yukon 0

New Brunswick 7, Yukon 1

Although the above scores would seem discouraging to some, both athletes and coaches were in very good spirits, citing key shots made by all four players.

The 5-Pin Bowling fivesome (Gracie Ryckman, Duncan McRae, Mallory Pigage, Bobbi–Rae Patchett, Garry Chaplin) had their first three games of their National Games at The Bowling Depot:

– Yukon lost to Manitoba

– Yukon won against Alberta (Calgary)

– Yukon lost to Alberta (Edmonton)

Those that made the trek to the bowling alley enjoyed enthusiastically cheering for all participating teams in the 5-Pin tourney and witnessed some great bowling.

Special Olympics Team Yukon Figure Skater Mike Sumner also had a productive practice skate in anticipation of Friday's competition.

On Tuesday, Sumner was treated to a skate with 1988 Olympic silver medalist Elizabeth Manley during his practice session.

Also on Tuesday, the curling team had three division-determining games and finished 1-1-1 and ultimately were placed in Division 2, the highest ever for a Special Olympics Yukon curling squad.

The 5-Pin bowling team also got in some quality practice time.

Unfortunately, the cross country skiers practice was cancelled due to the chilly and windy temperatures. Of course, that didn't deter the skiers from having a very successful day Wednesday in warmer temperatures.

Today's competition features more Special Olympics Team Yukon athletes showcasing their skills in front of a national audience:

5-Pin Bowling

1:30 p.m.: Matches 4, 5 and 6

Cross Country Skiing started again this morning:

10:07 a.m. Owen Munroe 7.5 km classic final

10:09 a.m. Padraig "Darby" McIntyre 7.5 km classic final

11:45 a.m. Ernest Chua 500 metre classic final

2:06 p.m. Ernest Chua 2.5 km classic division-determining race

Curling also rocked this morning:

10 a.m. Yukon versus British Columbia (Campbell River)

4 p.m. Semi-Final Division 2

– With files from Special Olympics Executive Director Serge Michaud