Ryan George Peter Bester (born 7 December 1984 in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

) is a Canadian lawn bowler.

Bowls career

World Outdoor Championships

Bester won the gold medal in the pairs with Keith Roney at the 2004 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

. After winning a bronze in the 2008 World Outdoor Bowls Championship he finished runner-up to Leif Selby in the 2012 World Outdoor Bowls Championship men's singles. He won his fifth World Championship medal when winning a silver medal in the

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

at the 2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. In 2020, he was selected for the 2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Australia but the event was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2023, he was selected again by Canada for the 2023 World Outdoor Bowls Championship. He participated in the men's pairs and the men's fours events. In the pairs, Bester qualified in first place with John Bezear in his group before being eliminated at the semi final stage, after losing to Ireland. However one week later, in the singles he went on to win the gold medal after beating Gary Kelly in the final.

Commonwealth Games

He clinched the silver medal in the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

. He also won

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. In November 2017, Bester was named to Canada's

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

team. During the 2018

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

on the Gold Coast in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

he won a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the

. In 2022, he competed in the men's singles and the men's pairs at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

Asia Pacific and Atlantic

Bester has won eight medals at the

Asia Pacific Bowls Championships The Asia Pacific Bowls Championships formerly the Pacific Rim Championships was a lawn bowling competition held between national bowls organisations in the Asia Pacific region. The event was inaugurated in 1985, and it was initially held every t ...

, a singles gold in 2005, a silver in the singles and bronze in the pairs in 2007, double bronze in 2011 and a pairs gold in 2015. His seventh and eighth medals came in with a singles silver and pairs bronze at the 2019

in the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

. In 2007 he won the singles gold medal at the

Atlantic Bowls Championships The Atlantic Bowls Championships was a bowls, lawn bowling competition held between national bowls organisations in the Atlantic region. The event was a qualifying event for the World Bowls Championship, World Outdoor Bowls Championships until ...

References

External links

Ryan Bester
at Bowls Canada * (2002–2014) * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bester, Ryan 1984 births Living people Canadian male bowls players Bowls World Champions Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Bowls players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games 20th-century Canadian sportsmen 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bowls players for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in lawn bowls Commonwealth Games silver medallists in lawn bowls