By: Kaja Antic, Sports Writer
Though the 2024 Paris Olympics have now come to an end, we should still take pride in the performances current and former SFU athletes showed during the two weeks of competitions. Six athletes competing in the games have ties to the Red Leafs, competing both for Team Canada and Team USA.
Justina Di Stasio – Wrestling
Team Canada – women’s 76 kg
Di Stasio wrestled for SFU from 2010–2014, and went on to earn silver and gold medals at the 2015 Toronto and 2019 Lima Pan American Games, respectively. Now an assistant coach for the women’s wrestling team, Di Stasio earned her spot on Team Canada as a first-time Olympian for the 2024 games. Di Stasio placed 12th in the 76 kg women’s classification, falling to Türkiye’s Yasemin Adar Yigit in the Round of 16.
Ana Godinez Gonzalez – Wrestling
Team Canada – women’s 62 kg
Godinez Gonzalez began wrestling at age 16, looking to improve her performance in rugby. Competing for the Red Leafs until 2021, Godinez Gonzalez has twice been the 62 kg women’s wrestling gold medalist at the 2022 and 2023 Pan American Championships, earning a silver in the 2024 Commonwealth Games. Godinez Gonzalez defeated France’s Ameline Douarre in the Round of 16, then lost in the next round to eventual gold medalist, Japan’s Sakura Motoki. Earning a spot in the repechage round, Godinez Gonzalez defeated Romania’s Kriszta Tunde Incze, then lost in a bronze medal match to Norway’s Grace Jacob Bullen, placing fifth overall in the 62 kg category.
Josipa Kafadar – Taekwondo
Team Canada – women’s 49 kg
Kafadar is currently working towards an undergraduate degree in biological physics, as well as becoming a first-time Olympian. Kafadar was an alternate during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and earned her black belt in Taekwondo at the age of 12. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kafadar lost in a Round of 16 match to eventual bronze medalist, Lena Stojkovic of Croatia.
Marie-Éloïse Leclair – Athletics
Team Canada – Women’s 4x100m Relay
Fresh off of being named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s (GNAC) Female Athlete of the Year in June, Leclair headed to Paris to take part in her first Olympic Games. The star sprinter was part of the relay team that set a new Canadian national record for the women’s 4x100m relay during the qualifying race in Paris, reaching the finish line with a time of 42.50 seconds. Team Canada ended up placing sixth in the 4x100m final. Leclair has been highly successful with the Red Leafs in both indoor and outdoor track and field events, while also majoring in health sciences with a minor in Indigenous studies.
Helen Maroulis – Wrestling
Team USA – women’s 57 kg
Maroulis went undefeated during her collegiate career with SFU and dethroned the three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida of Japan to win gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Hailing from Maryland in northeastern US, Maroulis earned the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and mirrored that result at the 2024 Paris games. Maroulis defeated Anshu Anshu of India and Alina Hrushyna Akobiia of Ukraine. She lost to eventual gold medalist Tsugumi Sakurai of Japan, then defeated Canadian Hannah Fay Taylor to win the bronze medal.
Dom Parrish – Wrestling
Team USA – women’s 53 kg
Parrish wrestled for SFU from 2015 until 2019, and was a training partner for Team USA during the 2020 Tokyo games. Originally from California, Parrish won gold at the 2022 World Championships in the women’s 53 kg wrestling. Parrish was defeated in Paris in the Round of 16 by eventual gold medalist Akari Fujinami from Japan. Selected for the repechage round, Parrish was defeated by Khulan Batkhuyag from Mongolia — who she had defeated in the World Championship finals in 2022. Overall, the first-time Olympian placed 11th in the 53 kg classification.
