Seventeen British Columbian athletes will represent Canada in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.
A total of 57 Canadians, 33 women and 24 men, are being sent to Japan to compete with the world鈥檚 top competitors from July 30 to Aug. 8.
鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to go to Tokyo. It鈥檚 crazy for me to think that I went to the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and now I鈥檓 getting ready for my third Olympic Games,鈥� said Damian Warner, the top-ranked athlete in the men鈥檚 decathlon. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more honoured to represent Team Canada and to go over to Tokyo with this talented group.
The athletes earned their nominations by achieving the entry standard during the qualifying period, or by world ranking position as of July 1, 2021.
COVID-19 has challenged the athletes unlike any other Olympic year. They have had restricted access to training facilities, inter-provincial travel bans have been in place, and have had to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine periods when leaving the country.
Canada鈥檚 head coach, Glenroy Gilbert, said the athletes鈥� commitment to their Olympic dreams is commendable.
鈥淲hen faced with adversity, these athletes rose to the occasion, performed on-demand and made the most of every opportunity they were given,鈥� Gilbert said.
鈥淎thletics Canada is fielding a strong team, with significant depth in a number of events. In Tokyo, I鈥檓 confident that they will be at their very best and will make Canada proud.鈥�
The team has 31 returning Olympic veterans, including three-time Olympian Michael Mason, six two-time Olympians Mohammed Ahmed, Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, Aaron Brown, Elizabeth Gleadle, Gavin Smellie and Damian Warner. They are joined by 26 first-time Olympians.
The oldest member of the team is 41-year-old Malindi Elmore, while 22-year-old Camryn Rogers is the youngest.
Canada came home with six medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic games 鈥� the most since winning nine at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. Five Canadian records were broken, and eight athletes improved on Canada鈥檚 best-ever finishes in their respective events.
The team will meet in Gifu, Japan, on July 18, then train at Nagaragawa Athletic Stadium before heading to Tokyo five days prior to the first event.
The athletes nominated are:
- Mohammed Ahmed (St. Catharines, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres (previously nominated in the 10,000 metres)
- Bolade Ajomale (Richmond Hill, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 4脳100-metre relay
- Marco Arop (Edmonton, Alta.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 800 metres
- Mathieu Bilodeau (Quebec City, Que.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 50-kilometre race walk (previously nominated)
- Khamica Bingham (Brampton, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 100 metres
- Melissa Bishop-Nriagu (Eganville, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 800 metres
- Jerome Blake (麻豆精选, B.C.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 4脳100-metre relay
- Bismark Boateng (Brampton, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 100 metres and 4脳100-metre relay
- Aaron Brown (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 200 metres and 4脳100-metre relay
- Alicia Brown (Ottawa, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 4脳400-metre relay
- Lucas Bruchet (Vancouver, B.C.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 5,000 metres
- Alycia Butterworth (Parksville, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 3,000-metre steeplechase
- Lindsey Butterworth (North Vancouver, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 800 metres
- Kyra Constantine (Brampton, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 400 metres and 4脳400-metre relay
- Brittany Crew (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 shot put
- Gabriela DeBues-Stafford (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 1500 metres
- Andre De Grasse (Markham, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 100 metres, 200 metres and 4脳100-metre relay
- Evan Dunfee (Richmond, B.C.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 50-kilometre race walk (previously nominated)
- Georgia Ellenwood (Langley, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 heptathlon
- Malindi Elmore (麻豆精选, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 marathon (previously nominated)
- Crystal Emmanuel (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 100 metres and 200 metres
- Lauren Gale (Ottawa, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 4脳400-metre relay
- John Gay (Vancouver, B.C.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 3,000-metre steeplechase
- Elizabeth Gleadle (Vancouver, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 javelin throw
- Natalia Hawthorn (North Vancouver, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 1500 metres
- Trevor Hofbauer (Burnaby, B.C.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 marathon (previously nominated)
- Matthew Hughes (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 3,000-metre steeplechase
- Madeleine Kelly (Pembroke, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 800 metres
- Justyn Knight (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 5,000 metres
- Genevi猫ve Lalonde (Moncton, N.B.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 3,000-metre steeplechase
- Pierce LePage (Whitby, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 decathlon
- Cameron Levins (Black Creek, B.C.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 marathon (previously nominated)
- Django Lovett (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 high jump
- Michael Mason (Nanoose Bay, B.C.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 high jump
- Brandon McBride (Windsor, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 800 metres
- Natassha McDonald (Brampton, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 400 metres and 4脳400-metre relay
- Sarah Mitton (Brooklyn, N.S.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 shot put
- Noelle Montcalm (Windsor, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 400-metre hurdles and 4脳400-metre relay
- Timothy Nedow (Brockville, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 shot put
- Christabel Nettey (Surrey, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 long jump
- Anicka Newell (Saskatoon, Sask.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 pole vault
- Alysha Newman (Delaware, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 pole vault
- Dayna Pidhoresky (Tecumseh, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 marathon (previously nominated)
- Ben Preisner (Milton, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 marathon (previously nominated)
- Madeline Price (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 4脳400-metre relay
- Brendon Rodney (Etobicoke, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 200 metres and 4脳100-metre relay
- Camryn Rogers (Richmond, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 hammer throw
- Andrea Seccafien (Guelph, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres (previously nominated in the 10,000 metres)
- Gavin Smellie (Brampton, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 100 metres and 4脳100-metre relay
- Julie-Anne Staehli (Lucknow, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 5,000 metres
- Lucia Stafford (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 1,500 metres
- Kate Van Buskirk (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 5,000 metres
- Damian Warner (London, Ont.) 鈥� Men鈥檚 decathlon
- Sage Watson (Medicine Hat, Alta.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 400-metre hurdles and 4脳400-metre relay
- Jillian Weir (Kingston, Ont.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 hammer throw
- Natasha Wodak (North Vancouver, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 marathon (previously nominated)
- Regan Yee (South Hazelton, B.C.) 鈥� Women鈥檚 3,000-metre steeplechase
The coaches nominated are:
- Glenroy Gilbert (Ottawa, Ont.) 鈥� Head Coach
- Charles Allen (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Coach
- Kurt Downes (Windsor, Ont.) 鈥� Coach
- Gerald Dragomir (Vancouver, B.C.) 鈥� Coach
- Geoff Harris (Halifax, N.S.) 鈥� Coach
- Jeffrey Hartwig (St. Charles, Missouri) 鈥� Coach
- Heather Hennigar (Victoria, B.C.) 鈥� Coach
- Jeff Huntoon (Toronto, Ont.) 鈥� Coach
- Richard Parkinson (Stouffville, Ont.) 鈥� Coach
- Larry Steinke (Lethbridge, Alta.) 鈥� Coach
- Michael Van Tighem (Summerland, B.C.) 鈥� Coach
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