By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Lethbridge’s Moriah Van’t Land wins Gold at Special Olympics Alberta Winter Games

Feb 11, 2019 | 12:37 PM

CALGARY, AB – A skater from the Lethbridge Skating Club competed at the 2019 Special Olympics Alberta Winter Games this past weekend and will be bringing home a Gold medal in her category.

Lethbridge’s Moriah Van’t Land competed in the Level 1 Ladies Singles event that was held at WinSport.

Van’t Land is 12 years old and skates in the club’s STARSkate and Synchronized Skating programs.

Although she didn’t start walking until she was two and a half years old and continues to struggle with balance, she loves figure skating. Van’t Land started when she was seven years old, and now her favourite thing to practice is spins.

This season, Van’t Land is skating three days a week, and is a member of the Lethbridge Ice Angels Elementary Synchronized Skating team. 

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In the short term, her skating goal is to improve her spiral and someday she’d like to compete in the Special Olympics World Games.

Van’t Land’s coach Olea Taboulchanas says she has faced many obstacles in life, so it was pretty special for her to make it to these games.

“She has worked so hard and I’m honoured to have the opportunity to coach her,” Taboulchanas added.

The 2019 Special Olympics Alberta Winter Games ran from Feb. 8 to 10, with competition in eight sports including 5-pin bowling, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, floor hockey, snowshoeing, and speed skating. 

The Games included over 800 athletes with over 300 coaches and mission staff and over 500 volunteers.