CALGARY – When the athletes march into the opening ceremony at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics Friday, a sizable delegation with ties to the University of Calgary will be among them.
Of the 330 Canadian athletes competing at the games, 20 are current or former U of C students and/or spend much of their training time on campus. In addition, one alumna will compete in triathlon for the Netherlands, bringing U of C's athlete total to 21.
Among the 21 athletes are four current or former Dinos varsity athletes, competing in four sports and representing two countries, led by two-time athlete of the year Jessica Zelinka. Zelinka, the 2007 BLG Award winner as the top female athlete in CIS, will represent Canada in the heptathlon competition. The Canadian record holder in the event, she is ranked top-10 in the world. Zelinka led the Dinos to the national track and field title in 2007 with a spectacular performance.
Mike Brown, the Canadian record holder in the 200-metre breaststroke, makes his second Olympic appearance in the pool and will join the Dinos for the 2008-09 season. Brown is a former silver medalist at the world championships and took home gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.
Lisa Mensink, who swam for the Dinos from 1995-99, finally achieved her Olympic dream by qualifying for Beijing in triathlon, where she will represent the Netherlands. Mensink trained with the UCSC over the winter to improve her distance swimming and made the Olympic standard at a World Cup competition in Hamburg, Germany.
The final Dinos representative in China is former volleyball and track and field athlete Josh Riker-Fox, who will compete in the relatively obscure sport of modern pentathlon. The event, designed to test the skills required for a 19th-century cavalry soldier, is comprised of fencing, shooting, a 200-metre freestyle swim, a show jumping ride, and a 3,000-metre cross country run. Riker-Fox won bronze at the 2007 Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, qualifying for Beijing.
Since 1976, the Dinos have sent 47 athletes to the Olympic Games, winning three gold, two silver, and five bronze medals.
Most of the remainder of the University of Calgary contingent will compete in water polo and gymnastics. Eight members of the Canadian water polo team, which trains in Calgary, are current or former students at the University of Calgary, including Zelinka's fiancé Nathaniel Miller. The sextet of Nathan Gafuik, Grant Golding, Joel Greenshields, Kyle Shewfelt, Adam Sioui, and Adam Wong make up much of the Canadian men's gymnastics team, and all are part of the University of Calgary Gymnastics Club.
The 21 athletes will be joined by seven support staff, including four coaches and three members of the Canadian mission staff, all with ties to the Faculty of Kinesiology. Included in that group are former Dinos track and field coach Les Gramantik, now the head coach for Athletics Canada; Tanya Dubnicoff, a former Olympic cyclist who coaches at the Olympic Oval's training centre; Jan Bidrman of the University of Calgary Swimming Club; and Tony Smith from the U of C Gymnastics Club, who is taking six club athletes to Beijing.
The Canadian mission staff includes three Kinesiology personnel: Dr. Victor Lun (physician, Sports Medicine Centre); Dr. David Smith (professor) will act as Team Canada's Director of Sport Science; and Dr. John Kolb. Kolb recently left the U of C to take a position with Road to Excellence, the summer equivalent of the winter sports' Own the Podium program, where he will serve as manager, sport science and medicine.
-UC-
University of Calgary Representatives at Beijing 2008
Athletes
Mike Brown, Swimming, Student, Dinos athlete
Tracy Cameron, Rowing, Alumni
Devon Diggle, Water Polo, Student
Sandra Donnelly, Equestrian, Alumni
Nathan Gafuik, Gymnastics, Student, University of Calgary Gymnastics Club
Grant Golding, Gymnastics, University of Calgary Gymnastics Club
Joel Greenshields, Gymnastics, University of Calgary Gymnastics Club
Carol Huynh, Wrestling, University of Calgary Wrestling Club
Brandon Jung, Water Polo, Student
Constantine Kudaba, Water Polo, Student
Thomas Marks, Water Polo, Alumni
Lisa Mensink, Triathlon (Netherlands), Alumni, Dinos athlete
Nathaniel Miller, Water Polo, Student
Kevin Mitchell, Water Polo, Student
Robin Randall, Water Polo, Former Student
Josh Riker-Fox, Modern Pentathlon, Student, Dinos athlete
Kyle Shewfelt, Gymnastics, University of Calgary Gymnastics Club
Adam Sioui, Gymnastics, University of Calgary Gymnastics Club
Adam Wong, Gymnastics, Student, University of Calgary Gymnastics Club
Nicolas Youngblud, Water Polo, Student
Jessica Zelinka, Athletics, Alumni, Dinos athlete
Coaches
Jan Bidrman, Swimming
Tanya Dubnicoff, Cycling
Les Gramantik, Track & Field
Tony Smith, Gymnastics
Mission Staff
Dr. John Kolb, Environmental Physiologist (Former professor, Faculty of Kinesiology)
Dr. Victor Lun, Physician (Sports Medicine Centre)
Dr. David Smith, Director of Sport Science, Team Canada (Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology)
