LONDON, Ont. - Western Mustangs varsity rower Cam Sylvester and eight former Mustangs will represent Canada at the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) announced their full team on June 26.
"This is a strong team - both in skill and maturity level," said RCA VP High Performance Phil Monckton, a Mustang alumnus who will serve as the Canadian team leader at the Games. "The final weeks of preparation before the Olympics are intense and exciting ? we are looking forward to the Olympic regatta and to making Canada proud both on and off the water in Beijing."
Canada has eight boats that have met FISA's (the international rowing federation) standards for qualification.
The rowing event of the 29th Olympic Games will be held at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in the Shunyi District of Beijing from Aug. 9-17, 2008.
Sylvester will row with Douglas Vandor of Dewittville, Que., in the lightweight men's double. The Caledon, Ont., native is currently in his fourth year of study in arts at Western.
Western Mustangs women's rowing head coach Al Morrow will represent Canada in his 8th Olympic Games. In total, 42 Mustangs coaches and athletes have represented Canada at the Olympics since 1964.
Former Mustangs competing include:
Lightweight Men’s Four
Iain Brambell, Victoria, BC, Victoria City RC
Liam Parsons, Thunder Bay, ON, Thunder Bay RC
Jon Beare, Toronto, Ont., Shawnigan Lake RC
Women’s Eight
Lesley Thompson-Willie, London, Ont., London RC
Jane Rumball, Fredericton, NB, Western RC
Romina Stefancic, Victoria, BC, University of Victoria RC
Heather Mandoli, Kelowna, BC, Western RC
Women’s Quad
Rachelle de Jong, Regina, SK, former exchange student at Western
NOTE: The Women’s Pair will be announced pending further selection
Coaches
Al Morrow, London, Ont.
Staff
Team Leader
Phil Monckton, Toronto, Ont.
Medical
Carolyn Caesar, Toronto, Ont. (massage therapist)
Below is a list of 43 Mustang rowers and their year(s) of appearance at the Olympics:
Rowing:
Roger Jackson 1964,1968,1972
Jim Walker 1972
Mike Neary 1972,1976
Monica Draeger 1976
Marine McBean 1992,1996,2000
Nancy Higgins 1976
Al Morrow (athlete) 1976
Becky Stevenson 1976
Andy Van Ruyven 1976
Phil Monckton 1976,1984
Heather Clarke 1980,1984,1988
Lesley Thompson-Willie 1980,1984,1988,1992,1996,2000,2008 (women’s eight, coxswain)
Barb Armbrust 1984
Cathy Lund 1984
Angela Schneider 1984
John Houlding 1984,1988
Harold Backer 1984,1988,1992
Silken Laumann 1984,1988,1992,1996
Jennifer (Walinga) Doey 1988, 1992
John Wallace 1988,1992
Brian Saunderson 1992
Mike Forgeron 1992,1996
Jeff Lay 1996
Maria Maunder 1996
Renata Troc 1996
Wendy Wiebe 1996
Michele Mellow 1996
Iain Brambell 2000, 2004, 2008 (lightweight men’s four)
Jon Beare 2000, 2004, 2008 (lightweight men’s four)
Liam Parsons 2008 (lightweight men’s four)
Matt Jensen 2008 (lightweight men’s four spare)
Cam Sylvester 2008 (lightweight men’s double)
Jane Rumball 2008 (women’s eight/pair)
Romina Stefancic 2008 (women’s eight)
Heather Mandoli 2008 (women’s eight)
Rachelle de Jong 2008 (women’s quad)
Kris Korzeniowski (coach) 1976
Al Morrow (coach) 1976, 1980,1984,1992,1996,2000, 2004, 2008
Jimmy Joy (coach) 1984,1988
Rudy Wieler (coach) 1984
Bob Marlow (coach) 1984
Ted Daigneault (coach) 1984
Volker Nolte (coach) 1996,2000
Carolyn Caesar (massage therapist) 2008 (former varsity rower at Western)
