By David Dyck
Photo by Jasper Chan
The Peak gets the scoop on who will represent SFU in the upcoming Summer 2012 games
Four competitors and two coaches from SFU’s Clan will represent Canada at this summer’s Olympic games in London. The Nigerian wrestling squad will also have some SFU influence, as their head coach is a former Clan wrestler.
“Her goal is just to go there and be able to compete against the best in the world, be as prepared as we possibly can going into the race, and hope that she can at least make the semi-final,” said Brit Townsend, SFU’s track and field head coach, of Jessica Smith. Smith, a North Vancouverite, recently finished her Clan career. “She has the fourth fastest time ever by a Canadian in the 800 meters, so she’s already accomplished a lot this year,” said Townsend.
Townsend left for London last week “to be able to be with [Smith] throughout the training camp and be able to hopefully guide her a little bit, keep her relaxed, keep her confident, and just focused on why she’s there.”
Arjan Bhullar and Carol Hunynh, competing for Canada in wrestling, and Teresa Gabriele, on the Canadian women’s basketball team, will also be joining Smith this year.
Gabriele, who hails from Mission, has experience in the Olympic games. She competed in the 2000 Sydney Games; a Canadian basketball team has not been back at the Olympics since.
“I think you’re taught that at a young age just to focus and to do the little things,” she told The Toronto Star. “It starts when you’re in high school and you’re worrying about your studies and you’re worried about training and not going out and partying, getting your sleep, getting your nutrition,” she said.
“In university, too, you have to be disciplined to be a good student, to be a good athlete, to be a student-athlete.”
“It’s another day, another match,” Bhullar told The Peak before he left for London. “I’m trying to treat it as another tournament.” He was confident, claiming that his chances were as good as anyone’s of coming home with a medal, but “if you ask anyone else, I’m an underdog.”
Townsend, a former Olympian herself, shared what it’s like for some of the athletes as they approach the final countdown to their competitions.
“I think initially it’s pretty overwhelming for them. Everything becomes focused on that one goal in the summer of being an Olympian and competing at whatever event they’re going to be in. I think that part is tough. It’s a tough adjustment from just rolling from competition to competition and trying to improve on their performance from before; now they’re competing on a world stage with all of Canada watching.”
Liam Donnelly, SFU’s swimming and diving head coach, discussed the physical challenge for swimmers who compete in such a large-scale event.
“Typically the most training that you do, in terms of volume of training, and intensity, and really pushing and punishing your body, is done well outside of the actual games,” three or four months prior, said Donnelley. “They won’t really be working intensively hard in high volumes, but they will be doing some very specific race preparation.”
Clan wrestling coach Dave McKay and former Clan women’s basketball coach Allison McNeill will join the athletes in London to represent Canada.
Former Clan wrestler, SFU alumni, and Canadian gold medal winner Daniel Igali will be at the Olympics, this time as the head coach for the Nigerian wrestling squad. Ingali will be inducted to the International Hall of Fame next month.
