Five Queen’s alumni and three current students were among the athletes representing Team Canada at The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The games were originally planned for the summer of 2020 but pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which took place from July 23 to Aug. 8.
Team Canada members with a Queen’s connection included:
- Gavin Stone, Sc'22
- Erica Wiebe, EMBAA'22
- Benjamin Preisner, MMAI’23
- Tom Ramshaw, Sc'13
- William Jones, Sc’18
- Haley Smith, Artsci’16
- Alexandra (Ali) ten Hove, Sc'19
- Julie-Anne Staehli, Artsci’16, MSC’20
Former Queen’s students Matthew Mullins and Olivia Apps also competed for Team Canada. Part-time Life Sciences student Derek Gee also competed for Team Canada in Cycling (Track).
Results
Stone and teammates Jakub Buczek, Luke Gadsdon, and William Crothers, finished second in Final B of the men’s coxless fours rowing event.
Wrestler Wiebe returned for her second Olympic Games, competing in the women's 76-kilogram weight class. She was defeated in a close 5-4 match by Estonia's Epp Mäe in the round of 16.
Gee, and teammates Vincent De Haître, Michael Foley, and Jay Lamoureux, placed fifth in the Men’s Team Pursuit race.
Preisner, an incoming student, ran in the men’s marathon, finishing 46th with a time of 2:19:27.
Ramshaw competed in sailing in Men’s Finn and took seventh place in the Medal Race to finish the competition in 10th position overall.
Jones sailed in the men's skiff - 49er event with crewmate Evan DePaul. The duo finished with a best result of 12th out of 19 teams in Race 6 and Race 9. They also placed 13th in Race 10.
ten Hove also sailed for Team Canada in the women's skiff - 49er FX event. ten Hove and crewmate Mariah Millen finished fourth in Race 9 of the 12-race event. The duo also placed seventh in Race 2 and 10th in Race 7 for three top ten placements.
Smith finished 29th in women's cross-country mountain biking. She was one of just two Canadians competing at the Izu Mountain Bike Course in late July.
Track and field athlete Staehli competed in the women's 5,000-metre race and finished with a time of 15:33.39, good for 17th in her heat.
Other Notable Alumni Involved at the Olympics
Queens didn’t just have community members competing at the games but had alumni helping run the games.
Thomas Hall, EMBA’22, is the current Director of Communications and Media Relations for the Canadian Olympic Committee and represented Canada for 15 years on the National Sprint Canoe Team and won a bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. In early July, Hall talked to Smith School of Business about his Olympic journey and background.
Edison Au, Artsci’96, a former Queen’s Rugby player, also attended the games as an NSO Physiotherapist for Team Canada’s Men’s Field Hockey team.
Upcoming Games
The games aren’t over yet, as the 2020 Paralympic Games are about to begin.
Stef Reid, Artsci’06, will represent Great Britain in long jump competitions. She is a five-time world recorder holder and Paralympic medalist. Reid represented Canada at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing and switched to compete for Great Britain in 2010. In 2016, we spoke with her about her time at the Rio 2016 games.
Anne Fergusson, Sc’17, GDB’17, will represent Team Canada in women’s sitting volleyball as an attacker. In 2020, she helped Team Canada secure their spot at the 2020 Paralympic Games by winning gold at the World ParaVolley final. Fergusson has been a member of Team Canada since 2013.
Thank you to the Queen’s community for helping us cheer on our alumni and students competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Let’s keep the momentum going and cheer on Reid and Fergusson at the Paralympic Games!
