SCHOOL SPORT CANADA• SPORT SCOLAIRE CANADA

OFSAA’s OLYMPIANS

September 12, 2016 by  
Filed under Provincial and Territorial News

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With the 2016 Olympics in full swing as this issue of the Bulletin goes to press, we look at a few student-athletes who competed at the OFSAA level and went on to represent in Rio.

 

pennyPENNY OLEKSIAK, Monarch Park CI As a Grade 9 swimmer in 2015 from Toronto’s Monarch Park Collegiate, Oleksiak won two OFSAA gold medals in the Open 50m and 200m freestyle races. Just 17 months later at her first International meet Oleksiak won four medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze), the most ever won by a Canadian at a single Summer Games and the first gold in the pool since 1992.

tim nedow

TIM NEDOW, Thousand Islands SS This winner of consecutive OFSAA shot put gold medals in 2005 and 2006 still holds the OFSAA Junior shot put record with 19.71m, a full metre-and-a-half longer than the next-best mark. Nedow failed to qualify for the final round of shot put in Rio despite throwing for 20.00m and placing 16th overall at the 2016 Olympics.

degrasse1-1040x572ANDRE DE GRASSE, Milliken Mills HS A basketball player turned sprinter, De Grasse’s late bloomer story is one for the ages. Spotted running in Converse at a regional meet he was groomed quickly into a sprinter finishing fifth with a time of 10.62 seconds in the 100m dash at OFSAA in 2012. At Rio 2016 he burst on to the scene winning bronze in the 100m event running a personal best 9.91-second race. In the 200m semi final he set a new Canadian record of 19.8 seconds then won silver in the final.

javier acevedoJAVIER ACEVEDO, Neil McNeil HS At the 2016 OFSAA Swimming Championships Javier set two new OFSAA records in the Open Boys’ 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly. He continued that momentum by qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympics where he finished 17th in the 100m backstroke and narrowly missed the cut.

gabriela-staffordGABRIELA STAFFORD, Toronto French School Gabriela was OFSAA’s 2012 senior cross country champion and then won the 3000m event at Track & Field later that school year. Then while aiming for the 2020 Olympics the 20-year old Gabriela improved quickly and qualified for Rio where she finished 19th in the 1500m. Her sister Lucia Stafford will be hot on her tail after winning the 800m and setting a new Canadian HS record in the 1500m this year at OFSAA.

derek drouinDEREK DROUIN, St. Patrick’s HS In 2006 Derek cleared 1.86m for OFSAA’s junior high jump gold medal, then in 2008 he jumped 2.03m to claim the senior title. He also competed in hurdles among other events. As an Olympian he claimed bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London, then bested that to win high jump Gold for Canada at the 2016 Games jumping 2.38m, just short of the Olympic record of 2.39. He’s the first Canadian to win high jump Olympic gold since 1932.

rebecca quinnREBECCA QUINN, Havergal College A multi-sport athlete, Rebecca represented Havergal at OFSAA in 1500m Steeplechase finishing 19th in 2013, the same year she played on the AAA Girls’ Volleyball team that made OFSAA but lost in the quarter finals. However, soccer was the sport she shone at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games grabbing a bronze medal with a 2-1 win over host nation Brazil.

damian-warnerDAMIAN WARNER, Montcalm SS Student-athlete fans swarmed Warner when he returned to OFSAA Track & Field 2016 in Windsor, but his own OFSAA results rarely reached the podium for any single event placing 6th in the 100m and winning a lone medal – bronze – in long jump. At the Olympics Warner proved to be one of the world’s greatest all-around athletes finishing the Rio Olympics with a bronze medal.

Kelly RUSSELL of Canada during the HSBC Women's Sevens Series match between Fiji vs Canada on May 29, 2016 in Clermont, France. (Photo by Jean Paul Thomas/Icon Sport)

KELLY RUSSELL, At OFSAA Track & Field in 2004 and 2005 Russell was kept just off the podium finishing fourth in discus and javelin both years. However, on the Rugby pitch at the 2016 Games in Rio the Bolton-native and the rest of her Rugby 7s Canadian teammates stepped up to the podium to receive bronze in the sport’s Olympic debut

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