The University of Guelph will be well-represented at both the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and the Paralympics, as Gryphons past and present swap red, gold and black for red and white to represent Team Canada.
Track athletes Jacqueline Madogo, Zoe Sherar and Craig Thorne will all make their Olympic debuts, while former Gryphon Jesse Zesseu will compete for Team Canada at the 2024 Paralympics.
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- WATCH: University of Guelph Gryphons Take on the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games
Guelph meets Paris as Gryphons make Olympic debut
As the athletes prepare to make their mark on the international scene, they all agree their time as Gryphons has set them up for success.
Zesseu, who qualified in Paris for the men’s discus, first learned he was eligible to compete as a Paralympian while studying political science at U of G. He was already aware of the calibre of track athletes competing as Gryphons and joined the team to take his athletics to the next level.
“It’s the best track school in Canada,” he says. “It was a really great environment to learn and mature into being an adult.”
Track and field head coach Jason Kerr, who will accompany the athletes to Paris, says it takes tremendous investment from the University community to support student-athletes performing at this level.
“We allow room for greatness here,” Kerr says. “There are so many elements that go into world-class performance, whether on the track or off the track, and U of G has brought some outstanding people together who’ve been able to produce incredible results.”
U of G supports student-athletes
Throughout their time at U of G, the athletes have seen first hand how all of Guelph comes together to cheer on the Gryphons.
“You don’t just come to the school,” psychology grad Madogo says. “You really are part of the community.”
Balancing classes, exams and practices can present challenges, especially for new students. U of G has programs and supports in place to help athletes succeed both on and off the field.
Madogo, who will compete in the women’s 200 metre, 4×100 metre and 100 metre, credits the Student-Athlete Mentor Program with helping her to adjust to a new environment when she first arrived in Guelph from her hometown of Ottawa.
“That program definitely really helped me navigate my first year and organize my schedule and all my assignments,” she says.
Sherar, who completed a bachelor of arts and sciences, elected to stay at U of G and pursue a master’s degree in business, excelling as both an athlete and a student. In 2020, Sherar became just the third Gryphon student-athlete named a U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian. She was presented with the D.F. Foster Medal upon graduating from the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics.
“I was just a decent athlete when I came to Guelph,” she says. “It really was the team culture and having a lot of fun on the collegiate scene that really helped me improve.”
In Paris, she’ll compete in two track events: the women’s 400 metre and 4×400 metre relay.
“The standard of athletics at U of G is so high,” says Thorne. The current Gryphon, who will compete in the men’s 110 metre hurdles, was drawn to U of G because of its track and field program and says while it took some time for him to settle into life as a student-athlete, the challenge has been fulfilling.
“I love it,” he says. “You kind of get into a groove of when to study and when to focus on track.”
Team Canada and the Olympic experience
Chiropractor Robert Winslow, who treats Gryphons cross country and track and field athletes, will travel to Barcelona, Spain next month to help prepare Team Canada Paralympians for competition.
U of G alum Sarah Douglas will head to her second Olympic Games this year. Douglas, who will compete in laser radial (recently renamed ILCA 6) sailing, placed sixth in Tokyo 2020, the highest ever finish for a Canadian woman in an individual sailing event.
As Team Canada members don the maple leaf in Paris, Kerr says he wants them to take a moment to enjoy the “life-defining experience” while also remaining competitive. “These are unique things you get to talk about for the rest of your life,” he says.
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games run from July 26 to Aug. 11. The Paralympics begin Aug. 28 and will run until Sept. 8.
Learn more about where and when to cheer on the Gryphons in Paris here.