UBC celebrates Rio-bound Olympic and Paralympic athletes
29 current and former UBC student-athletes heading to Rio for the Olympics and Paralympics
The University of British Columbia put on a noisy celebration of its 29 Olympic and Paralympic student-athletes Wednesday in a scene no one could have imagined a few years ago when the school seemed intent on eliminating a number of its varsity sports teams.
What a difference a couple of years makes.
Today, the festivities kicked off with incoming UBC president Santa Ono congratulating Rio-bound athletes with a gift of his signature bow tie, while new athletics director Gilles Lepine spoke glowingly about the pride the school feels in its Olympians.
And then there was Canadian Olympic Committee president and UBC grad Tricia Smith encouraging her Thunderbird brothers and sisters to embrace the Olympic spotlight.
Why are these men smiling?Because they were just named to the CAN Olympic Field Hky team <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamCanada">@TeamCanada</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FieldHockeyCan">@FieldHockeyCan</a> <a href="https://t.co/eYv1B1TUup">pic.twitter.com/eYv1B1TUup</a>
—@CBCLarsenThe biggest smiles in the room belonged to eight UBC field hockey players who learned early this morning -— and in dramatic fashion —they had made the Olympic cut.
"They had Brent Hayden [Olympic swimming medalist] come and wake us up at 4:30 in the morning. They took us to a boot-camp-type setting, got us on a helicopter and flew us around Cypress Mountain," said forward Keegan Pereira.
"All our friends and family were there. Then they gave us our Olympic jackets. It was crazy!"
Martha McCabe, captain of the Canadian women's swim team, says UBC has become a crucible of talent and motivation for elite Canadian athletes.
"You see one person in your class or group who qualifies or sets a world record, and you see that it's possible," said McCabe, who narrowly missed winning a medal in London four years ago. "[Success] just becomes contagious."
UBC also recognized the 17 Rio Olympic team coaches, support and medical staff with T-Bird connections, including swim coach Tom Johnson, a veteran of 11 Olympics teams.
"Each Olympics is really special and I'm still having fun doing it," said Johnson, who made his Olympic coaching debut 40 years ago. "I like to compete and I want to see if what we're doing is good enough against the rest of the world."
Canada will send approximately 315 athletes to the Rio Olympics.