Leo Edmond, center, has broken several youth records in weightlifting in recent months. (Submitted photo/Saskatchewan Games Council)

By Derek Cornet

Sask. Games

Churchill weightlifter receives provincial athletism award

Jun 22, 2023 | 4:26 PM

Leo Edmond, a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and Grade 11 student at Churchill Community High School, is an inaugural recipient of the Lorne Lasuita Saskatchewan Games Athletic Award.

The award, sponsored by the Saskatchewan Games Council, is presented to one male and one female athlete who best combined competitive performance, strong leadership skills, good sporting conduct, and a spirit of fair play, cooperation, and friendship at the Saskatchewan Games. The award also provides an athletic bursary intended to assist the recipients with their ongoing participation in sport.

Edmond competed in weightlifting during the 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games in Regina, which occurred in February 2023. During his first-ever competition, he won gold in the men’s 89-kilogram category, setting an age group provincial record in the process.

“I knew I was going to do good,” Edmond said. “I caught on to the sport pretty quick.”

Edmond only began weightlifting four weeks before the Winter Games, but he explained he was already in the gym working out prior to that. He said coaches at the school were looking for weightlifters and he thought it would be a fun sport to join.

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Since February, Edmond has competed in two other weightlifting events including the junior and senior provincial championships. He broke even more youth provincial records at this spring’s Saskatchewan Weightlifting Provincial Championships and he looks forward to one day competing on the national stage.

The award Edmond received on Thursday at Churchill was established in 2019 to recognize the contributions Lorne Lasuita has made to the Saskatchewan Games program. Throughout his 50-plus year career in sport and recreation, he has played a key role in more than 50 multi-sport games.

Lasuita played an instrumental role in building the Saskatchewan Games program, having been a part of every edition from 1974 through 2023. He was recently inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame as a Builder in the Class of 2023.

“I was told I was going to get it last week, but it’s pretty exciting,” Edmond said about receiving the award, adding he has never before been given one like it.

The other recipient of the Lorne Lasuita Saskatchewan Games Athletic Award is Yorkton’s Aya Burrell. She earned a silver medal in the pre-novice Ladies Figure Skating event at the 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno