SASKATOON — Jordan Carroll, second to the last to do his routine in men’s pommel horse, saw the first six finalists and was edgy while waiting for his turn at the Norton Diamond Soccer Complex in Strafford, PEI.
The 17 year old, however, put aside all his anxiety and came up with a gold-medal-winning performance on Friday, Feb. 24, in the 2023 Canada Winter Games. His gold was the first of three that Team Sask won on the seventh day of the competition.
“I was pretty nervous, but I knew I could perform [well]. I thought that I was going to mess things up. [However], I knew inside me that I could do it because I’ve done this many times before,” said a visibly thrilled Carroll, with the gold medal wrapped around his neck.
“I expected to get a medal on pommel horse since that is my favourite event. It was an expectation for me to get a medal … I’ve done much training and my experience in 2019 [Red Deer] helped me greatly.”
Although initially anxious, Carroll showed nerves of steel and was given 12.500 points against the 12.425 of Quebec’s Dominic Allaire, who settled for silver. Ethan Ikeda of British Columbia came in third with 12.375 points.
“Mentally, I go through the routine in my head repeatedly. I sometimes watch videos of me [performing] in the past to remind myself that it’s fine and I can do it again,” said Carroll, who was second after the qualifying rounds in his favourite event.
Placing second after the qualifying round boosted Carroll’s confidence as he expected to win at least a silver or a bronze medal.
“I knew I was going to get a medal. Either way, I was pretty happy with any medal and winning the gold was extra,” said Carroll, who could not hide his excitement after learning that his gold was the first for Team Sask in the Winter Games.
He received phone calls and text messages from his family and friends in Saskatoon once the news of him winning the gold reached the prairies.
“I got a ton of texts from my dad and my sister. My mom called me as well. They are all happy … I can’t stop smiling and was just happy since it has been fun competing as a team and watching your teammates,” said Carroll.
Luca Veeman gave Saskatchewan its second gold in men’s speed skating long-track mass start and Kaylee Miller highlighted her three-medal haul with another gold in the female gymnastics floor event.
Carroll and Miller made history with, the former being the first gymnast from Saskatchewan to win gold in pommel horse and the latter becoming the most decorated Saskatchewan female gymnast with a silver in the beam and bronze in the uneven bars to go with her gold.
