Thompson-Okanagan's Joe Byram wins three medals

Thirteen-year-old swimmer Joe Byram from Thompson-Okanagan zone won three medals-two gold and one bronze-on the first day of competition at the 2008 BC Winter Games at the swimming centre at the Cranbrook Rec Plex.

"Swimming has taken lots of my time away from other activities but it is definitely worth it," said Byram before the Games. Steven Linemayr and Sarah Francis from the Thompson-Okanagan Special Olymics team were also multiple medal winners, collecting three medals each.

The Thompson-Okanagan zone team fared very well on the first day of competition. Both the girls' and boys' teams from Thompson-Okanagan scored the highest point totals, earning 409 points for the girls' team and 485 points forthe boys. However, with 14 medals, they trail behind the Vancouver Island-Central Coast zone, which collected 16 medals.

More than 1,500 participants are in Cranbrook and Kimberley for the Games, which wrap up Sunday.

Searchable results (by name, hometown, sport etc) at:http://www.bcgames.org/participants_and_results_databases.html