Photo courtesy of lukescornerbar.com
With less than two weeks till the start of the Olympic games, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) recently announced the 277 Canadian Olympic Team Athletes that will be competing this year in London. Just as you would guess, the Team reflects the diversity and multiculturalism of Canada. The athletes not only come from all across Canada but they embrace many different ethnicities. The great Olympian athletes on Canada’s team exhibit the great diversity that Canada so proudly celebrates and stands for. It is certainly amazing to see such a cultural and ethnic mosaic of athletes on one national team.
In celebration of Canada’s cultural diversity in sports, here are some featured athletes:
Jenniefer Abel
Photo courtesy of olympic.ca
The Laval, Quebec native of Haitian descent was born in 1991 and shortly started diving in 1996. Jennifer Abel is one of the youngest athletes to have ever earned a senior spot in the Olympics. At the age of 16 she attended her first Olympic games in Beijing 2008 where she placed 13th on the 3-metre board. At the Commonwealth Games in Delhi she earned two gold medals and one silver; a great accomplishment for such a young athlete! She currently holds a national record with Olympic medalist Emilie Heymans in the 3-metre sycnchro.
Tobias Oriwol
Photo courtesy of olympic.ca
London 2012 will be Tobias second time to the Olympic Games. This year he will be competing in the 200m backstroke. His father is from Germany and his mother from Hong Kong, Tobias Oriwol grew up in a multicultural house hold. In a press conference he told reporters that he “enjoys not only celebrating his own diverse background but also learning about others cultures.” Tobias, like many diverse Canadian athletes, is proud to represent Canada on the world stage; He was certainly set up for an international life.
Carol Huynh
Photo courtesy of olympic.ca
Carol’s parents came to Canada from Vietnam as refugees in 1980. She grew up in British Columbia where she started wrestling in high school. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics Carol Huynh won a gold medal in the 48 kg division. This made her the first women to win a gold medal in wrestling for Canada. She also won gold in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and placed 4 times at the world championships. In London 2012 she will be fighting to keep her title.
Arjan Bhullar
Photo courtesy of olympic.ca
Arjan Bhullar will be attending his first ever Olympic Games in London. He will be representing Canada in the men’s freestyle 120kg division, making him the first Canadian of South Asian descent to qualify for wresting in the Olympic Games. In 2010 he won gold at the Commonwealth Games. Following his father who was an accomplished wrestler, Arjan hopes to make his family proud at the Olympics.
Eugene Zhen Wang
Photo courtesy of olympic.ca
Eugene Zhen Wang was born in China and just recently became a Canadian citizen in June 2012 allowing him to represent Canada in the upcoming Olympic games. Eugene is the number one table tennis player in North America and hopes to place well in his first ever Olympics.
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