London 2012 Olympics: Conservatory Alumni Win Six Medals For Canada

UPDATES:

• Six of Canada's Silver and Bronze medal winners are alumni of The Royal Conservatory (denoted below).
• The Toronto Star published an article on Conservatory alumni at the Olympics, and the performance training parallels between music and sport
• NPR posted a story on Canada's classically-trained Olympians on their Deceptive Cadence blog.
• Classical 96.3 FM boasted "Team Canada could start a small orchestra!" while sister station AM740 also covered the story.
• On his Slipped Disc blog, Norman Lebrecht asks readers to guess "which Olympic team has 19 conservatoire students".

There will be 277 athletes representing Canada at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, 19 of whom are alumni of The Royal Conservatory from across the country.

Athletes with a Conservatory connection from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan converge in London this week to compete in the most prestigious sporting event in history. Classically-trained pianists, cellists and clarinetists will be among the Canadians competing in a wide range of events including Rowing, Swimming, Archery, and even Women’s Hammer Throw.

There are many more Canadian Olympians with a Conservatory connection, as we count among our illustrious Olympic alumni former rower Silken Laumann, former equestrian Beth Underhill, and former volleyball player Michelle Sawatzky-Koop, among others.

We are proud to present our alumni who will compete for Canada in the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Tune in (no pun intended) and cheer them on! Go Canada!

• Michael Braithwaite: Rowing, Men’s Double Sculls 
  2009 Canadian University Rowing Championships Oarsman of the Year
   
• Jeremiah Brown: Rowing, Men’s Eight (Silver Medal Winner)
  Competed in 2011 World Championships (pictured, top row, right)
   
• Hilary Caldwell: Women’s Swimming, 200m Backstroke
  2012  Santa Clara International Swimming Competition Bronze Medal-winner
   
• Doug Csima: Rowing, Men’s Eight (Silver Medal Winner)
  2011 World Championships Bronze Medal-winner (pictured, top row, left)
   
• Crispin Duenas: Archery, Men’s Individual 
  Silver medal-winner at 2007 and 2011 Pan-Am Games
   
• Paula Findlay: Women’s Triathlon - 
  Multiple ITU World Championship Series winner
   
• Nathan Gafuik: Men’s Gymnastics, Individual All-Around 
  Multiple medal-winner at 2006 Commonwealth Games
   
• Thomas Gossland: Men’s Swimming, 4x100m Freestyle Relay 
  Multiple gold medal-winner at 2011 CIS Championships
   
• Janine Hanson: Rowing, Women’s Eight (Silver Medal Winner)
  Silver medal-winner at 2010 and 2011 World Rowing Championships  (pictured, top row, left)
   
• Natalie Mastracci: Rowing, Women’s Eight (Silver Medal Winner)
  Silver medal-winner at 2011 World Rowing Championships  (pictured, top row, 2^nd from right)
   
• Martha McCabe: Women’s Swimming, 200m Breaststroke
  Bronze medal-winner at 2011 World Swimming Championships
   
• Erin McLeod: Women’s Soccer, goalkeeper (Bronze Medal Winner) 
  Competed in the 2007 World Cup and 2008 Summer Olympics
   
• Sherraine Schalm: Women’s Individual Épée 
  First Canadian to win a World Championships event in Épée
   
• Jessica Smith: Women’s Track & Field, 800m
  Competed at the 2007 Pan Am Juniors in Brazil
   
• Heather Steacy:  Women’s Track & Field, Hammer Throw 
  First-place winner at 2012 National Championships
   
• Jillian Tyler: Women’s Swimming, 100m Breaststroke 
  2006 National Female Breaststroke Award recipient
   
• Donna Vakalis: Women’s Modern Pentathlon 
  Canadian National Champion in Pentathlon
   
• Joseph Veloce: Men’s Cycling, Keirin 
  Silver medal-winner at 2011 Pan-Am Games
   
• Lauren Wilkinson: Rowing, Women’s Eight (Silver Medal Winner)
  Gold medal-winner at 2011 Under-23 World Championships (pictured, top row, center)

You can also read about the nine Royal Conservatory alumni who competed for Canada at the London 2012 Summer Paralympic Games, winning 12 medals.

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