Meet the Yellow team: Canada's Ultimate Challenge

Coach

Waneek Horn-Miller has been involved in competitive sports since the age of seven. As a teenager, she participated in the Sacred Run North America and ran 32 km a day into different Indigenous communities from Fairbanks, Alaska to Sante, New Mexico. 

She first rose to national attention when, at age 14, she was stabbed by a soldier's bayonet while holding her four-year-old sister during the Oka crisis standoff. In the wake of her near-death experience, water polo became a way to relieve stress. 

Known for her competitive spirit and powerful shooting arm, Waneek was a member of the Canadian women's water polo team that won gold at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg. She also became the first Canadian Mohawk woman to ever compete in the Olympic Games. 

She is now a well-known Indigenous rights advocate and prominent role model, mentor and advocate for youth involvement in sports.

Waneek looks forward to meeting Canada's Ultimate Challenge full of courage and bravery. "My team's going to approach this competition like warriors," says Waneek. "We're going to fight for it."

Players

Em Donkers, 27
Kingston, Ont.

Em Donkers is a non-binary fitness influencer and the owner of NRG Fitness in Kingston, Ontario. He/they were chosen by Gymshark as an LGBTQ ambassador to help break down barriers for queer people in sports. "I've always been seen as an underdog, and this is a chance to prove that I'm so much more. I want to represent my community (queer, trans community) and show that we are capable, amazing human beings that deserve the same opportunities as everyone else, and that living your truth is true strength."

Em brings speed, agility and leadership to the competition, "I am always up for a challenge, in life, or on an obstacle course, bring it on."

Kate Fabien-Ferrol, 34
Yellowknife, N.W.T.

Kate Fabien-Ferrol is a fitness and wellness coach. But, she says, raising three young children has been her biggest challenge so far, "every day is an adventure with many physical, emotional/mental challenges. Since becoming a mother, I've entered the longest and best race of my life. It is an evolving journey with no finish line." 

As a weightlifter, she brings strength to Canada's Ultimate Challenge and looks forward to seeing Canada and stepping out of her comfort zone, "a lot of Black women don't let themselves shine, for the fear of standing out and I really want that to stop….if you're good at something, pursue it, try it."

Victoria Coman, 23 
Ottawa, Ont.

Victoria Coman participated in the Arctic Winter Games for Nunavut and is now a student and personal trainer in Ottawa. "If someone tells me that I can't do something, then I'm even more motivated to do it and get it done better than anyone else. I'm definitely a rule breaker,  I like to play by my own rules and set the bar."

Dilpreet Bhattal, 31
Toronto, Ont.

Dilpreet Bhattal grew up in Winnipeg and became the province's first Punjabi female competitive bodybuilder to win Miss Bikini Fitness. "Being a South Asian woman, I would love to inspire and empower other South Asian women to break those societal barriers and step outside of those norms," says Dilpreet.

She now lives in Toronto and is the founder of Little Tank Fitness and brings mental toughness to Canada's Ultimate Challenge, "I don't quit and will throw everything on the line for my team."