More Arctic Games gold for Team NT in variety of sports

Team NT kept mining for gold ulus at the Whitehorse 2026 Arctic Winter Games on Thursday in sports ranging from Arctic Sports, Gymnastics, Speed Skating and Ski Biathlon.

Team NT reports that Arctic Sports veterans James Williams and Veronica MacDonald won gold in Kneel Jump and Arm Pull respectively, while Abigail Arey continued her dominant week in Dene Games by adding both Finger Pull and all-around female U18 gold.

Hans Arey won the male U18 all-around title.

Friday is the last full day of competition, and Team NT’s schedule is full of semi-finals and finals, including:

• Basketball U19 Female gold final vs Team Alberta North
• Basketball U19 Male gold finals vs Team Alberta North
• Futsal U18 Female bronze Final vs Team Nunavut
• Futsal U18 Male gold final vs Team Yukon

In Gymnastics on Thursday, Team NT reports that Araliya Fox won Vault and Floor gold. Malia Williams recovered from a fall on uneven bars during Tuesday’s team event to win gold on the apparatus on Thursday.

“I needed to take a big, deep breath,” Williams told Team NT. “It means a lot to me just bringing gold home to the Northwest Territories and I’m really proud of myself.”

Fox said she was “really happy about the whole competition,” noting this is her first-ever floor medal.

In Speed Skating, Team NT reports that Lindsey Stipdonk — yes, that last name should sound familiar — set another record and won another title in the U15 female 500m category.

Stipdonk, who just turned 13, paid tribute to her dad, Chris, who set a knuckle hop world and Arctic Winter Games record in knuckle hop this week.

“He’s so proud of me. He gives me so much praise. He’s my mentor so much, I love him,” she told Team NT.

Yuma McEachern won the male equivalent of Stipdonk’s title for Team NT, while Peter Mahon took 777m gold in the U19 male class.

In Ski Biathlon, Jaxin Coombs won gold in the five-kilometre U15 male mass start.

Team NT’s figure skaters won bronze in their team competition, marking a third ulu of the week for Aven Ohokannoak.

Mandie Miersch-King and Marlin Miersch-King each took Finger Pull silver in Dene Games, with Marlin adding second place in the all-around contest.

Top-4 medal standings as of Tuesday night: Alaska, 172; Yukon, 129; Alberta North, 85, and Northwest Territories, 65.

Speeding encouraged by RCMP — for skaters!

RCMP officers were asked to record how fast the athletes were going, with their speed gun.

Malcom Taggart, Speed Skating sports chair, came up with the idea, reports Ulu News.

He explained that working out the average speed of the athletes is fairly simple, but it doesn’t let them know what their top speed is.

He felt that the idea of the speed check would not only be fun but also helpful and encouraging information for the athletes, reports Ulu News.

The RCMP recorded multiple athletes in several categories for the preliminary rounds and found the average speed on the ice was between 30 to 35 km/h.

The fastest speed captured was 38k m/h, which was reached by several contestants, particularly from Team NT, who have been breaking records and earning medals in Speed Skating since the opening night.

One of which was 16-year-old Seiya McEachern, reports Ulu News. His younger brother Yuma is also competing in the tournament and beat the Games record previously held by Seiya, reports Ulu News.

Another young speed skating record breaker is Lindsey Stipdonk, who at the age of 13 is already making a name for herself.

Setting records in the Stipdonk family seems to be a theme for the 2026 games as Lindsey’s father Chris also beat his own world record in the Knuckle Hop.

– with files from Team NT and Ulu News