The anticipation has reached its peak as Canada sends a formidable team of 338 athletes to the Paris Olympics.
Among this impressive roster, nine athletes hail from Vancouver Island, ready to showcase their talents on the world stage.
The Paris Olympics promise to be a spectacle like no other, with the opening ceremony set to kick off at 10 a.m. PT on Friday, July 26th, broadcasted live on CBC.
This grand event will feature a six-kilometre flotilla of athletes and performers navigating the Seine River, passing under historic bridges and by many of the city’s iconic landmarks, such as Notre Dame Cathedral and The Louvre Museum.
As the competitions get underway, fans can expect thrilling events across a wide range of disciplines.
Some of the main sports capturing the spotlight include athletics, swimming, gymnastics, soccer, basketball, and cycling.
Now, let’s shine a light on the nine athletes from Vancouver Island who are part of Team Canada in Paris:
ATHLETICS
Ethan Katzberg is set to compete in the hammer throw at the Paris Olympics. Hailing from Nanaimo, he has quickly become one of Canada’s top throwers. His dedication and exceptional performances have earned him a spot on Team Canada.
With numerous national titles and impressive international showings, Katzberg is a strong contender in his event. His journey to the Olympics highlights the athletic talent from Vancouver Island. As he steps into the Olympic arena, Katzberg carries the hopes of his community, ready to inspire future generations.
Adam Keenan, another talented hammer thrower from Victoria, is competing at the Paris Olympics. Known for his strength and precision, Keenan is one of Canada’s top athletes in his discipline, with multiple national titles and a strong international presence.
Track (Endurance)
Erin Attwell has been a member of the Canadian women’s team pursuit at several major competitions in recent years, including at the UCI World Championships in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
In June 2019, Erin Attwell was named to Canada’s team for the 2019 Pan American Games. At the Games, she won a silver medal in the team pursuit. Attwell was also selected for the 2023 Pan American Games; however, she had to withdraw due to an injury sustained when she was struck by a vehicle while training.
In July 2024, Attwell qualified to compete for Canada in track cycling at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Sarah Van Dam proudly represented Canada in both track and road cycling at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. She earned her spot on the road team by winning the U23 road race and placing third in the elite road race at the 2023 Canadian Championships. This also marked her third consecutive year competing with the Canadian track cycling team at the world championships.
In her 2021 UCI Track World Championships debut, Van Dam helped Canada secure fourth place in the women’s team pursuit. A career highlight came in April 2023 when her team won bronze at the UCI Nations Cup in Milton, Ontario, raising their hopes for an Olympic medal.
At the 2022 Pan American Track Cycling Championships, Van Dam won six medals, including golds in the team pursuit, omnium, and Madison.
ROWING – Women’s Eights (with cox)
Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens won bronze in the pair at Tokyo 2020, marking Canada’s first Olympic medal in the event since 1992.
Filmer’s Olympic debut was at Rio 2016 with the women’s eight, which finished fifth. The pair first competed together in 2018, winning gold at the World Rowing Championships. They also secured World Cup gold and silver before winning bronze in the pair at the 2019 World Championships, which helped qualify them for Tokyo.
Filmer, who started her international career in rowing with the junior team in 2013, faced a setback in 2019 when she took a three-month break for her mental health. However, she returned to win bronze in the pair at the 2019 World Championships.
Avalon Wasteneys won gold in the stroke seat of the women’s eight at Tokyo 2020, marking Canada’s first Olympic gold in women’s rowing since 1996. Post-Tokyo, she continued with the women’s eight, securing a bronze at the 2022 World Rowing Championships and multiple medals at World Rowing Cups. However, food poisoning sidelined her during the gold-winning 2024 World Rowing Cup II.
Before rowing, Wasteneys was a competitive cross-country skier. She switched to rowing after high school, joining the University of Victoria’s novice team. At the RBC Training Ground combine in 2017, she was a top performer and won three gold medals at the Canada Games. In 2018, she helped Canada’s senior eight win silver at a World Cup and gold at the U23 Championships. After a period of overtraining, she returned strong in 2019, earning a bronze at the Rotterdam World Cup and a fourth-place finish at the World Rowing Championships to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
RUGBY SEVENS (Women)
Caroline Crossley was first exposed to international competition at the 2015 Youth Commonwealth Games where Canada won silver. She has been a standout since joining the senior women’s national sevens squad, participating in the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco.
In 2019 she helped Canada bring home gold from the Kitakyushu stop of the World Rugby Sevens Series.
SURFING
Of course Canada’s only surfer would hail from Tofino.
At the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, Sanoa Dempfle-Olin won silver in women’s shortboard, qualifying for Paris 2024 and becoming the first Canadian to surf at the Olympics.
Before the Pan Am Games, she won the WRV Outer Banks Pro and later the SLO CAL Open. In April 2023, she also helped Canada finish fourth at the Pan American Surf Games, placing fourth individually.
Dempfle-Olin, the youngest to win the Tofino Rip Curl Pro in 2017, has competed at multiple ISA World Junior Championships and the ISA World Surfing Games, with a top finish of fifth in the 2023 U18 semifinals.
SWIMMING (RACING)
Jeremy Bagshaw represented Canada at the 2009 Junior Pan Pacific Championships and won bronze in the 200m freestyle at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010.
After narrowly missing qualification for Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, he finally made his first Olympic team for Paris 2024 with a fourth-place finish in the 200m freestyle.
Bagshaw won bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2015 Pan Am Games and again at Santiago 2023, where he also reached the 200m freestyle final. He also earned a bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
He competed at the World Aquatics Championships from 2017 to 2022 and at the short course World Swimming Championships in 2016. During his time at the University of California – Berkeley, he helped his team win three national titles and finished second in the 1650 yard freestyle in 2014.
Will you be watching the summer Olympics? Let us know which sport is your favourite in the comment section below.
And if we missed any athletes from Vancouver Island, let us know!
