Canada's athletes began their Olympic journeys from humble beginnings

Parents, siblings and love of sport, although not necessarily their own Olympic sport at first, is a common origin story of how Canada's athletes got started in their chosen sport.

A capsule look at some beginnings:

Tammara Thibeault, Shawinigan, Que., boxing

"I got into boxing when I was nine. My dad was a CFL player, a wide receiver with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. During his off-season, he'd go to the boxing club to stay in shape. He dragged his three kids along at the time and I fell in love with the sport."

Phil (Wizard) Kim, Vancouver, breaking

"I started breaking because there was a local crew called the Now or Never Crew and they were performing in front of the art gallery in Vancouver, which is a very common busking spot. I saw it, it blew my mind. I was like 'that would totally impress people. I could get girls with that.' One of them actually came to my school. They were teaching hip-hop choreography, but I went up to him and I asked him if he taught breaking. He said yes and gave me a card."

Eric Peters, Ottawa, archery

"I was a nerdy kid who played a bunch of video games and read a bunch of books and thought it was really cool. I decided I wanted to do this and then I found out it was in the Olympics. I was like 'OK, I guess I really want to do this now.'"

Katie Vincent, Mississauga, Ont., sprint canoe

"I got into canoeing at the Mississauga Canoe Club, which is the local canoe club near my house. It was just their summer camp that my parents put my brother and I into when I was around 10. We've been members ever since, and it's gotten me from summer camp to the Olympics.

Aaron Brown, Toronto, track and field

"The common denominator with all the sports that I did was that I was fast. It was a natural progression for me to get into track. I did soccer, I did football, I played basketball, a little bit of volleyball, some tee ball, and then track just for fun. When my club coach in high school Bill Stephens saw me run, he said, 'hey, I think you should take this seriously and come up from a club team because I think you can go pretty far.'"

Fay De Fazio Ebert, Toronto, skateboarding

"I did track and cross-country when I was in elementary school. There was a March break lesson at Impact Skate Club. We went and we bought a board right after because I felt so connected to it. I don't remember the exact feeling, but I remember feeling I've done it before. People were asking 'has she done this before?' and I said 'No, I haven't.'"

Sarah Mitton, Brooklyn, N.S., shot put

"I got into shot putting in junior high school. It was kind of the next sport on the docket and I was a super-athletic kid. Went out to a local competition and I ended up doing really well. This coach came up to me and she was like, 'who are you? we need to get you throwing the shot put.' I remember having to beg my mom to let me join like this track club after like one day of track and field."

Felix Dolci, Laval, Que., gymnastics

"I started doing many sports such as hockey, soccer. I had too much energy. My mom said 'you need something else. Something that is more demanding.' She put me in gymnastics because she was a gymnast when she was younger. She thought it was a great idea because I was jumping everywhere on the walls."

Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Quebec City, track and field

"I tried all sports. The common denominator for all of those was that I was the quick one, or the one that never got tired. Against my will, my phys-ed teacher put me in cross-country and track every year in high school. That's the sport I hated the most. I would rather run after a ball. By my last year of high school, it was pretty obvious the one sport I had the most talent in was track and field and middle-distance running."

Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., rugby

"I started playing in Grade 10 at high school. I played soccer all my life. Growing up, I actually wanted to go to the Olympics for soccer or for hockey, and then I found rugby. Anyone who plays rugby would say the same thing, the off-field environment and the passion for the game is pretty addictive."

Cam Levins, Black Creek, B.C., marathon

"I started running, my parents would say as soon as I could walk. My first actual race was a short cross-country race in second grade. It was a 2k loop in our area and we got to race with the third graders. It's like their last race of the year, and they let second graders do it. I really just wanted to do every sort of sport I could. I had an older brother, who was also doing it and quite good at it, and so I wanted to do everything he did as well. I ended up joining a local track club in seventh grade."

Sanoa Dempfle-Olin, Tofino, B.C., surfing

"I went into surfing because of my oldest sister and my mom. My mom, she loved the ocean and she liked surfing when she got out there. My sister got into it. Because she's almost three years older than me she kind of helped me get out there and anything she was doing, I wanted to keep up and do it as well."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2024.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press