![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/081526-soc-olympic-family-300x225.jpg\")
Zoe Bates, 42, took silver in rhythmic gymnastics, following in the Olympic footsteps of her grandfather, who threw javelin for Canada at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics.–NEWS PHOTO BROOK WAGNERbwagner@medicinehatnews.com<\/a>\nZoe Bates won a silver medal Thursday in rhythmic gymnastics at the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games after finishing second in the rope event.<\/p>\n
The 42-year-old from Calgary is one of about 1,700 athletes competing at the Games. But she also carries with her a rare piece of Olympic history.<\/p>\n
Bates\u2019 grandfather threw javelin for Canada at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. That was Doral Pilling. His daughter, Wyona Pilling Bates, is Bates\u2019 mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe participated in the 1928 Olympic games in Amsterdam,\u201d Wyona said. She says her father was a natural athlete. Doral was part of one of the best teams Canada ever sent. Well known athlete Percy Williams was on that team. Williams won gold in the 100 and 200 metres at those Games. Wyona says he also ran in a relay there.<\/p>\n
Doral earned a degree from the University of Utah in 1927. He later worked as a geologist and looked for oil on Moose Mountain, near Calgary.<\/p>\n
In 1970 Pilling was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. He died in 1982.<\/p>\n
Wyona has her own sports past, playing basketball for the University of Calgary from 1962 to 1964.<\/p>\n
The sports legacy has come full circle. Bates has done rhythmic gymnastics for 17 years, she started the year after the family moved to Calgary in 2007. She also curls, bowls and plays baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s an athlete. She just loves doing things,\u201d Wyona said.<\/p>\n
When Bates was asked how it felt to compete, she said, \u201cActive!\u201d When asked what her favourite part of the sport is, \u201cRibbon!\u201d she said ecstatically. When asked if the routines were hard, she said, \u201cNatural. Listen to music. All the steps!\u201d<\/p>\n
Her sister Tanya says Bates has trained hard to reach this level.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince COVID, she\u2019s been preparing about three years,\u201d Tanya said.<\/p>\n
After advancing from the provincial level, Bates earned a spot at the Canada Summer Games. She secured five gold medals at the 2025 Special Olympics Alberta Summer Games in Grande Prairie.<\/p>\n
Bates is the youngest of seven children. Five of her siblings were there to cheer her on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though she\u2019s grown up, I still call her my baby,\u201d her mother said.<\/p>\n
Friends matter most to Bates. At the Games, she has enjoyed time with fellow athletes and gave a special shutout to her friend named Grayson.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s amazing,\u201d Bates said. When asked what her favourite part of the event was, she quickly replied with, \u201cFriends!\u201d<\/p>\n
Wyona said Bates embodies the Special Olympics motto: \u201cLet me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.\u201d Her online athlete profile lists a similar goal: \u201cTo be brave and win if I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watching all the athletes has been the best part of the week, Wyona said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey all have a treasure or niche that makes them special,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a feeling of elation. I\u2019m just so happy that she\u2019s gotten this far and that she\u2019s happy doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Special Olympics Canada Summer Games started Wednesday and end today. They are the top level of national competition for Canadian athletes with intellectual disabilities.
\n23
-22\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Brook Wagner on August 15, 2026. Zoe Bates, 42, took silver in rhythmic gymnastics, following in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[51,5366],"class_list":["post-169111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-calgary","tag-premium"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}