I encourage you to follow and celebrate the accomplishments of our province’s athletes during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and I am excited to see that 14 Manitobans rank among the athletes participating in the Olympics and Paralympics. With ages ranging from 18 – 38, Manitoba is well represented with a diverse range of competitors for the world’s most famous international sports competition. This year our hometown athletes will be participating in soccer, volleyball, triathlon, swimming, cycling, and artistic gymnastics, amongst many other Olympic athletics. There will be 9 Manitobans competing in Rio de Janeiro this year, the highest number since the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and a marked increase over the 3 Olympians we sent to Athens in 2004, the 2 we sent to Beijing in 2008, and the 7 we sent to London in 2012. With roughly 300 Canadian athletes making up our Olympic team this year, it is exciting to see that Manitoba has strong representation.
It’s hard to imagine the commitment, discipline and training that these athletes undertake to become masters of their sport, in order to receive the chance to test themselves against the best in the world. The lifestyle and support that is required to keep pushing themselves to be the strongest or the fastest is something that I find incredible and something that as we watch the competitions in our homes, hopefully we can share in their passion. Alongside our Olympic athletes, I would like to also recognize all of the coaches, team members, sports science and medicine staff, officials, mission staff and volunteers. With your guidance, sport in Manitoba has become a healthy and positive tool to build strong and vibrant citizens and communities.
And of course, all athletes, from those competing at the Olympics to those at the Manitoba games in Steinbach this week, rely on the support of family and friends. It is truly a team effort and we all stand together in cheering our teams on.
