Among the Pontiac athletes to board the bus alongside their Outaouais teammates two weeks ago were Isabelle Marie Holt, Aleni Brochu, Layla Brennan and Manohé Beaulieu.

Holt, a 15-year-old cyclist from Luskville who won gold in women’s cycling in the U15 team time trial event at the 2022 Games, was primed to do so again in the U17 age bracket.

Her Outaouais squad was strong again this year, winning gold in the team time trial by a margin of almost 40 seconds.

“I’m happy with my contributions as I was able to do a big pull with about 2 km to go,” said Holt, who said the female contingent of the team was able to hold a solid 33-second lead over their closest competitors.

Holt narrowly missed out on a medal in the sprint event, finishing in fourth place. Outaouais teammates Mahée Migneault (third) and Julianne Gauthier (fifth) also finished in the top five.

The Outaouais cycling team finished the competition with 12 total medals, the most of any team at the Games. Holt also finished ninth in the individual time trial and 18th in the criterium.

Fourteen-year-old swimmer Aleni Brochu of Breckenridge competed in the Games two years ago and decided to return this time for a second crack in the 12-14 age division.

The young star’s talents were laid bare under the bright lights on July 2nd for the 400m freestyle finals. After finishing in third place in the preliminary round, she improved that standing by finishing in second in what was a close race – good enough for a silver medal.

“I was thrilled,” she said in a message after the event. “I was excited to achieve the goal I’ve been working so hard for.

Brochu’s mother Jenny Rossignol said she watched her daughter take a dead-last finish at the Games two years ago and turn it into motivation to come back better.

“She came home with such motivation [to] win a medal [ . . . ] It was two years of waking up way too early for a teenager, foregoing vacations, sleepovers and birthday parties just to make sure she didn’t miss any training,” she wrote in a message.

Brochu had another shot at a medal on Thursday night in the 200m freestyle. After finishing fourth in the preliminaries, she couldn’t quite edge into third place, finishing less than three-tenths of a second behind the bronze medal winner.

Brochu said despite the disappointment of coming up short in that event, the experience of the Games overall was a positive one . “I loved the support I received from my friends, coaches and family,” she wrote.

Layla Brennan, a volleyball player from Luskville, competed in U17 beach volleyball alongside her partner Frédérique Seguin. After a 4-1 preliminary round finish, the pair started their playoff bracket against Lanaudière, a team that had only lost one set during their first five matches combined.

Brennan couldn’t quite overcome the powerhouse Lanaudière team, as the Outaouais pair fell by two sets to zero to the team that would go on to capture the silver medal. After falling short against Laval and Chaudière-Appalaches, Brennand and Seguin finished in 8th place overall.

Finally, Manohé Beaulieu of Luskville was Pontiac’s lone male athlete in the competition, representing the Outaouais team in baseball. His team finished with a win-loss record of 2-2, failing to make the playoff round and finishing the tournament in 11th place out of 19 teams.

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