More than 314 Canadians are competing in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Here is a breakdown of some of the competing athletes that have come through Ottawa.
The Ottawa Rowing Club was founded in 1867, which makes it the oldest rowing club in Canada. The club is known for training both beginners and athletes who compete at the highest level. Currently, four members of the Canadian national rowing team are part of Ottawa’s rowing club. Jennifer Martins, Cristy Nurse, Christine Roper and Antje Von Seydlitz are all currently competing in Rio in their quest for success.
As if training for the Olympics wasn’t hard enough, two members of the national team decided that they wanted to stretch their minds as well as their muscles. Erin Rafuse, who is making her Olympic debut at Rio, graduated from Carleton University in 2013 with a degree in Psychology. Her fellow countryman Mark Oldershaw represented Canada in both the Beijing and London Olympics and saw fit to fill the time in between the two games by attaining a degree in English. With this under his belt he now sets his sights on Rio where he will compete in Canoe Sprint.
Out of the water and onto the track is where we will find record-holding Canadian long distance runner Lanni Marchant, who is also a criminal defence attorney, earning her law degree from the University of Ottawa.
Ottawa is also the hometown of six Olympic athletes who are representing Canada this summer. Sekou Kaba (athletics), Segun Makinde (athletics), Ashton Baumann (swimming), Alicia Brown (Athletics), Eugene Wang (Table Tennis) and Jen Kish (Rugby) all reside in Canada’s capital. Kish has already helped lead her team to a bronze medal, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for more podium moments courtesy of the capital.
To find out how our hometown heroes are doing visit rio2016.com/en/schedule/results to keep up to date.