Six athletes among plethora of Æ»¹ûÒùÔºians headed for Paris Olympic Games
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By Earl Zukerman, Sports Information Officer, Æ»¹ûÒùÔº Athletics and Recreation
Six athletes are among a 23-member entourage of Æ»¹ûÒùÔº graduates serving in an official capacity at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, July 24 to Aug. 11. Heading the list of athletes isÌýClément Secchi, a three-time Forbes Trophy winner as Æ»¹ûÒùÔº male athlete of the year, who graduated with a management degree in 2022. He hails from Aix en Provence in France and will be swimming for his native country.
The Canadian entourage includesÌýBriana Scott-HungerfordÌý(BA '12), a former Æ»¹ûÒùÔº volleyball player from Vancouver, B.C., who is now a distance runner representing Canada in track and field. Rounding out the Æ»¹ûÒùÔºians areÌýVirginie ChénierÌý(BA '17) of Laval, Que., in archery, and three fencers:ÌýShaul GordonÌý(BCL/LLB '19, LLM '21) of Richmond, B.C., and a pair of Montrealers,ÌýMaximilien Van HaasterÌý(BSc '16) andÌý¹ó°ù²¹²Ôç´Ç¾±²õÌý°ä²¹³Ü³¦³ó´Ç²ÔÌý(BCom '22).
The official count does not include future Æ»¹ûÒùÔºianÌýCaroline Crossley, a rugby sevens player from Victoria, B.C., who is expected to be enrolled in law school this fall.
A high-profile official heading to France is long-standing IOC memberÌýÌý(BCom'62, BCL'67), aÌý former Æ»¹ûÒùÔº swimmer who competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics.
The Canadian Olympic Committee mission staff is sending 11 grads to Paris, including Montreal nativeÌýÌý(B.Eng '09), head coach of the women's water polo team, former Æ»¹ûÒùÔº volleyball playerÌýÌý(BCom '01) of LaSalle, Que., who will serve in the role of Games Leadership, andÌýHubert T. LacroixÌý(BCL '76, MBA '81). A former Æ»¹ûÒùÔº women's basketball coach who was president of CBC/Radio-Canada, Lacroix is serving as COC Team Leader.
Another key post is held byÌýPhilip JevtovicÌý(BA '15), a former Æ»¹ûÒùÔº basketball player who serves as director of high performance analytics and strategy with Canada Basketball.Ìý
The medical team includes a pair of physicians from the Æ»¹ûÒùÔº Sportsmedicine Clinic:ÌýDr. Mickey MorozÌý(MDCM '16,Ìý MEd '18) andÌýDr. Gabrielle OstiguyÌý(Medical Fellowship '15). Also on board with medical services isÌýÌý(BSc PT '09, MSc '11) of Cowansville, Que., a head physiotherapist with Judo Canada who played varsity rugby at Æ»¹ûÒùÔº.
Rounding out the COC staff on site isÌýEmily PhoenixÌý(BA '16), a team leader with Golf Canada, from Calgary, Alta., along with athlete apparelÌýoutfitterÌýÌý(BEd PE '13), chief sport officerÌý(EMBA '11) and communicationsÌýmanagerÌýÌý(BA '99) of Greenfield Park, Que., who once served as sports editor of The Æ»¹ûÒùÔº Tribune.
Also working at the Games isÌýVictor MansureÌý(BEd'10), a former Æ»¹ûÒùÔº basketball player who is now serving as director of the Brazilian Basketball Confederation; andÌý(BEd PE '98), a former Æ»¹ûÒùÔº hockey player who currently handles the global event marketing account with Allianz, one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers.
In addition to the aforementioned Æ»¹ûÒùÔºians are two grads who are officially covering the Games as members of the media,Ìýalthough they are remaining in North America. Based atÌýthe CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto is senior consulting talent producerÌýÌý(BA '86). And covering the Games for NBC, the American TV rights-holder, is former Æ»¹ûÒùÔº swimmerÌý(BA ´01) of Orlando, Fla. Lorentz is in her seventh Olympics as a graphic designer with the network. Due to staffing restrictions, Lorentz willÌýbe based at the NBC Broadcast Centre in Stamford, Conn.
Another Æ»¹ûÒùÔºian of note isÌýKarolina WisniewskaÌý(BA '99), who will be serving as Canada's co-chef de mission at the upcoming Paralympic Games, which follow the Summer Olympics..
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Æ»¹ûÒùÔº has a long tradition of involvement with the Olympics and the University's Percival Molson Memorial Stadium served as the field hockey tournament venue for the 1976 Montreal Games.
Æ»¹ûÒùÔº and the Olympics over the years
The athletes heading to Paris are among 152 Æ»¹ûÒùÔº students or grads that have gone on to compete for Olympic glory over the past century. Since first appearing at the 1904 Games, Æ»¹ûÒùÔºians have won a combined total of 33 Olympic medals, 12 of them golden, in addition to eight silvers and 13 bronzes.
Æ»¹ûÒùÔº's first-ever Olympian was the legendaryÌý, who competed in track and field at the 1904 Summer Games in St. Louis. The University has also had three graduates serve as flag-bearer in the OpeningÌýCeremonies. Representing Canada was boxerÌýat the 1932 Los Angeles Games and track starÌýÌýat the 1936 Games in Berlin. And representing Armenia at the 2020 Tokyo Games was figure skaterÌýTina Garabedian.
Æ»¹ûÒùÔº gymnastÌý, a world-renowned sculptor, was the only artist to take part in five Olympiads. He represented the country in art competitions, winning a bronze medal at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles in "mixed sculpturing - medals and reliefs."
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The most decorated Æ»¹ûÒùÔº Olympian is the lateÌý, a graduate from the faculty of medicine, who racked up five bronze medals while representing Canada in track & field at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam (1928), Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin (1936). He was the first Canadian male to win medals in three different Olympiads and his achievement stood for 66 years until matched by short-track speed-skaterÌýMarc GagnonÌý(1994, 1998, 2002), who collected three golds and a pair of bronzes.
SwimmerÌý, who reached the top of the podium twice at Stockholm in 1912, is the only Æ»¹ûÒùÔºian to strike gold at the Summer Olympics. Five Æ»¹ûÒùÔº students have struck gold a combined total of 10 times at the Winter Olympics.
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Hockey goaltendersÌýÌýand Æ»¹ûÒùÔº teammateÌýÌýeach earned gold at three separate Olympiads. St-Pierre won at 2002 in Salt Lake City, 2006 in Turin and 2010 in Vancouver, whileÌýÌýstood atop the podium in 2006, 2010 and 2014 in Sochi. Another Æ»¹ûÒùÔº teammate wasÌý, who was part of the golden squad in 2010. Freestyle skierÌýÌýstruck gold in 2006 and hockey playerÌýÌýwon gold in both 2014 and 2022.