Brentwood College School is once again proud to be sending alumni to the Olympic Games, including its first-ever athlete representing a country other than Canada.
The school has produced more than 25 Olympians, and has been represented on CanadaB次元官网网址檚 rowing team in every Olympics since 1976. That streak will continue this year as Sydney Payne takes the seven seat in the Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 eight.
A 2015 Brentwood grad and Toronto native, Payne is understandably excited to be taking part in her first Olympics.
B次元官网网址淲hat a big honour to be named to my first Canadian Olympic rowing team,B次元官网网址� . B次元官网网址淭hese 2020 Olympic games are truly special B次元官网网址� the entire world has struggled and sacrificed dealing with the pandemic this past year. This has been a very challenging extra year of training but weB次元官网网址檝e persevered and have been really fortunate to be tucked away safely training here in Victoria the whole time.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been truly inspired daily by the commitment, tenacity and motivation of the athletes around me, I will always be grateful to Brentwood and the pivotal role they played in developing my rowing career. What a beautiful place to go to school. I am beyond thrilled and so excited that this journey to the Tokyo Olympics is finally becoming a reality.
B次元官网网址淲e are stronger than weB次元官网网址檝e ever been: letB次元官网网址檚 go race!B次元官网网址�
Payne and her Rowing Canada teammates did much of their training for the Olympics on Quamichan Lake in North Cowichan. The rowing competitions at the Tokyo Olympics will take place between July 23 and 30 at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo Bay.
Also representing Canada in Japan is triathlete Matthew Sharpe. Sharpe only spent his Grade 10 year, 2006-07, at the school before leaving to train at the National Training Centre in Victoria. He has deep roots at Brentwood, however, as both of his parents, 1975 grad Derek and 1978 grad Barbara (nee Dyson) attended, as did his brother Geoffrey.
The first Brentonian to represent a country other than Canada is Andre Jin Coquillard, who will suit up for South KoreaB次元官网网址檚 menB次元官网网址檚 rugby sevens team. A 2009 grad, Jin Coquillard has an American father and a Korean mother, and attended Berkeley University in California after graduating from Brentwood.
BrentwoodB次元官网网址檚 head rowing coach, Laryssa Biesenthal, is also bound for Japan, where she will coach SingaporeB次元官网网址檚 lone rower, Joan Poh, in the womenB次元官网网址檚 single sculls.
