To The Haldimand Press
CAYUGA—Local athletes Caitlyn Thompson and Ava Myke were part of over 100 Olympic hopefuls participating in the RBC Training Ground at the University of Western Ontario on March 11, 2023; it was the second of seven regional events scheduled for Ontario.
The RBC Training Ground is a talent identification and athlete funding program designed to find young athletes aged 14-25 with Olympic potential. In the six years that the program has been operating, more than 12,000 young athletes have been tested at sites across Canada. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 13 athletes discovered by the program took part and came away with seven medals.
CAYUGA—Caitlyn Thompson demonstrates her strength at an RBC Training Ground in London. —Photo courtesy of J. Thompson.
Calgary’s Kelsey Mitchell won a gold and bronze in the individual cycling events in Tokyo, but would never have known about her cycling talent without the RBC program. Before that, her sport of choice was soccer.
Placing fifth in Tokyo was another RBC graduate, Pierce Lepage, who won silver at last year’s World Championships.
There are currently 12 National Sport Organisations (NSO) recruiting for 2023. If any of the NSOs like the test results for an athlete, he or she is invited to the National Final, to be held in Ottawa, with potential funding for training being the prize. Unfortunately for the two local athletes, track and field is not one of this year’s suitors.
Thompson is highly ranked in Canada for heptathlon, comprising seven aspects of one competition, with performance points awarded for each aspect. She is also AABHN Champion in sprint hurdles and triple jump, making it to the Ontario High School Championships in 2022 despite a leg injury.
Myke was the upset-champion over 100m in last spring’s AABHN Championships, and also led her school relay to sixth at the Western Regional Championships.
