Of the 200 Canadians competing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, 25 are either from Vancouver — like Kitsilano secondary graduate Liz Gleadle — or have moved here to train — like UBC Dolphin Tera Van Beilen.
The 20th Commonwealth Games, which were known as the British Empire Games until Edmonton 1978, run July 23 to August 3. Glasgow will host athletes from 71 countries.
These are four individual Vancouver athletes to watch.
Liz Gleadle
A medal contender in the javelin, Gleadle, 25, is the Canadian record holder — a mark she’s set three times — for her 64.50 metre best, which she set earlier this year at a meet in Lethbridge, Alta., where she now trains. On July 8, she threw 64.80m at the Victoria Classic and her fourth Athletics Canada record is pending but not yet official.
At the London Summer Games, she became the first Canadian women to compete in javelin since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the year she was born. At the 2012 Olympics, she advanced to the finals and finished 12th overall.
At the Harry Jerome Classic earlier this month, Gleadle, six-foot-one and 185 pounds, finished a disappointing third and explained her mechanics are as powerful as ever but slightly off.
What you need to know: She can bench press more than 200 pounds but avoids heavy lifting for training purposes.
Follow her on Twitter: @lgjavelin
Tera Van Beilen
The 21-year-old breaststroker from Oakville, Ont. trains with the UBC Dolphins and is one of Canada’s fastest swimmers.
She won gold and silver medals at the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games and in 2012 had the second-fastest time in the world for the 200-metre breaststroke.
At the London Games later that year, Van Beilen finished in the top 10 in the 100m, came 21st in the 200m and swam with the 4x100 medley that finished 12th.
What you need to know: She supported the Netherlands in the 2014 Brazil World Cup.
Follow her on Twitter: @teravb
Laura Brown
An eight-time national champion and a Commonwealth medal threat, Laura Brown moved to Vancouver after living in Calgary and Victoria. The 27-year-old rides with the women’s professional team Colavita/Fine Cooking and won bronze at the 2012 London Games in the team pursuit and another bronze at the 2013 track cycling world championship.
What you need to know: Brown volunteers with Take A Hike, an outdoor education program for at-risk teens.
Follow her on Twitter: @laurakatbrown
Annabelle Kovacs
At the 2014 Canadian championships, Annabelle Kovacs, 18, was consistently on the podium. She won bronze in the hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon, leading to her third-overall finish at the national competition.
An athlete who takes risks and prefers combination elements, Kovacs trains with Aura Rhythmics and graduated this year from the SpArts program at Magee secondary.
What you need to know: She keeps three boards on Pinterest: “cute,” “crafts,” and “quotes,” one which reads: “I can’t keep calm, I’m Romanian.”
Follow her on Twitter: @Akovacs13
