En route for Rio!
Three athletes are among a 23-member entourage of UU直播 students and graduates headed to Rio de Janeiro to serve in an official capacity at the Summer Olympic Games, Aug. 5-21.听
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Among the 14 officials and coaches heading to Rio are a number of former prominent UU直播 athletes, including IOC Member听听(swimming, BCom'62, BCL'67), IOC听director of legal affairs听听(wrestling, BEng'78, LLB'83, BCL'83) and IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission member;听听(basketball; B.Mus '75) 鈥� all natives of Montreal.
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The Canadian Olympic Committee contingent includes modern pentathlon coach听听(swimming; BSc '72, DipEd '73) of Pointe Claire, Que., COC director of team services听听(track & field; MA'92) of Montreal, manager of team services听听(volleyball; BCom '01) of LaSalle, Que., and COC board member听听(BEng '86), a former astronaut who previously competed on the UU直播 cross-country running team.
Rounding out the squad of UU直播 students听on the mission staff is听, currently a doctoral student who will serve as a therapist with the Canadian women's basketball team,听听(COC executive director, sport; Executive MBA '10),听听(COC project manager, team services; BEd PE '09),听听(COC assistant manager, Performance Centre; BEd PE '13),听听(COC outfitting exchanges officer; BEd PE '09), director of National Sports Federation leadership听(Executive MBA '08) and athlete performance officer听听(BEd PE '08) of Laval, Que.
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In addition to those listed above, four UU直播 alumni are off to Rio with the CBC and SRC, the Canadian TV rights broadcaster, namely CBC president听听(BCL '76, MBA '81), Olympic Games Daytime co-host听听(BA '93), rowing and canoe/kayak commentator,听senior consulting producer (BA '86), 听(BSc PE '86) and听听(MSc '01), who served two years as an assistant coach with the basketball Martlets (1999 to 2001) and will be working at the Rio Games as a hoops analyst for CTV. Finally, , currently enrolled in the UU直播-HEC Montreal Executive MBA program, will serve as head of security for CBC/Radio-Canada.
Not included in the count above are a couple of non-graduates with close ties to the University. Governor General听听will serve as Canada's official representative to the Games and听听is a therapist with the Canadian judo team. Johnston served as principal and vice-chancellor at UU直播 from 1979 to 1994, while Dion is currently employed in the UU直播 Sportmedicine Clinic.
UU直播 has a long tradition of involvement with the Olympic Games and the University's Percival Molson Memorial Stadium served as the field hockey tournament venue for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The athletes heading to Rio de Janeiro are among 125 UU直播 students or grads that have gone on to Olympic glory over the past century. These UU直播ians have won a combined total of 31 Olympic medals, nine of them golden, in addition to eight silvers and 14 bronzes.
UU直播's first-ever Olympian was the legendary听, who competed in track and field at the 1904 Summer Games in St. Louis. The University has also had two of its athletes serve as flagbearer in the opening ceremonies -- boxer听at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles and track star听听at the 1936 Games in Berlin.
, a renowned UU直播 gymnast, was the only artist to take part in five Olympics art competitions, winning a bronze medal at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles in "mixed sculpturing - medals and reliefs."
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The most decorated UU直播 Olympian is the late听, a graduate from the faculty of medicine, who racked up five bronze medals while representing Canada in track & field at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam (1928), Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin (1936). He was the first Canadian male to win medals in three different Olympiads and his achievement stood for 66 years until matched by short-track speed-skater听Marc Gagnon听(1994, 1998, 2002), who claimed three golds and a pair of bronzes.
Six UU直播 students have struck gold, five of them at the Winter Olympics.
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Hockey goaltender听earned gold at three Olympiads (2002 in Salt Lake City, 2006 in Turin and 2010 in Vancouver). Two of her UU直播 teammates --听听and听听-- also were part of the golden squad in 2010, which added to the gold that Labont茅 won in 2006. Freestyle skier听听struck gold in 2006 and silver in 2010 and hockey player won gold in 2014.听
Swimmer听, who reached the top of the podium twice at Stockholm in 1912, is the only UU直播ian to strike gold at the Summer Olympics
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