5 athletes at Rio Olympics hail from Saskatchewan
Humboldt, Hanley, Weyburn and Saskatoon are hometowns for Sask. athletes at Rio
Among the 303 athletes representing Canada at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are five competitors with Saskatchewan roots.
Local athletes
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Taryn Suttie, Hanley, Sask., shot put.
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Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Humboldt, Sask., heptathlon.
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Graham DeLaet, Weyburn, Sask., men's individual golf.
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Gavin Schmitt, Saskatoon, men's indoor volleyball.
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Jillian Gallays, Saskatoon, women's 53 kilogram wrestling.
"I think we have a strong team," Rob Kennedy, from Sask Sport, said. Kennedy is manager of high performance sport for the provincial organization.
Kennedy noted that Brianne Theisen-Eaton is a gold medal contender.
He also pointed out that Jillian Gallays has excelled at World Championship meets.
As well, Kennedy said golfer Graham DeLaet is a stand out contender.
"What I like about Graham was, with all the news of some high profile professional athletes not wanting to attend the games, he's been very exuberant and excited about his opportunity to go," Kennedy said.
Gavin Schmitt is also a notable athlete from Saskatchewan at the games.
"He's becoming the face of volleyball in Canada for men's volleyball," Kennedy said. "He's one of the best volleyball players in the world."
Kennedy said he believes the Canadian men's volleyball team will be competitive.
"I think the medals are a longer shot for them," he added. "But they're certainly going to make some noise and [Schmitt] is going to be a big part of that."
Taryn Suttie, in shotput, has improved a lot in the last couple of years, Kennedy said, noting she has been training and competing for a long time.
"We can see the improvement happening," he said.
While some of the athletes travel for their training, Kennedy said the Saskatchewan link is real.
"They all have a strong connection back to the province," he said.
While there were 14 athletes with Saskatchewan roots competing in Beijing, Kennedy said the current number at Rio — five — contains many talented people.
He noted there are many up-and-coming athletes in Saskatchewan in rowing and diving.
"We're really excited about the younger diving athletes we have in the province," he said.
Sask Sport supports range of players
Kennedy also pointed out that, while his focus concerns high performing athletes, the overall goal of Sask Sport is to support athletics at all levels of play.
"We're focussed on the whole continuum, from playground to podium," he said. "Our system has a lot of focus on areas beyond the Olympic cycle."
He added they also pay a lot of attention to participation rates, officiating and coaching. Sask Sport is connected to some 65 different sports.
Kennedy said he is looking forward to following the athletes to see how they do.
"What I'm excited about are these individual stories of the individual athletes," he said. "For each games, there's a new story."