7 athletes with ties to Saskatchewan competing at Tokyo Olympics

Canada will be sending 370 athletes to the Tokyo Olympics, the most since Los Angeles in 1984, and seven of them have roots in Saskatchewan.

While the opening ceremonies were Friday, some Olympic athletes, including 29-year-old softball player Jennifer Gilbert of Saskatoon,started their Olympic run earlier this week.

Alongside Gilbert, Saskatchewan athletes representing Canada in Tokyo are:

• Anicka Newell, 27, women's pole vault.
• Cole Pratt, 18, swimming.
• Kenzie Priddell, 23, artistic swimming (alternate).
• Tammara Thibeault, 24, boxing (women's middleweight).
• Rylan Wiens, 19, diving (10-metre platform).
• Kelsey Wog, 22, swimming.

Patrick Thibeault, Tammara's father, said going to the Olympics is like winning the lottery. He's proud he gets to see his daughter hit that mark.

"She's trying to go all the way. She's my little girl and we're proud of her. What else can I say, it's quite the accomplishment," he said.

"She's super athletic, super intelligent. She's awesome."

Tammara started at the Regina Boxing Clubwhen she was about nine or 10 years old, Patrick said.

It started for fun, Patrick said. She had her first match a couple years later when they could finally find an opponent.

Tammara moved to Quebec in 2012 and has been training out of the Institut national du sport du Quebec for about three years.

She won gold at the 2017 Canadian Championships and again at the international American Continental Championships.

While Tammara will be swinging for gold next week, Kenzie Priddell's mother, Mary Beth, is hoping to see her daughter compete.

Kenzieis an alternate for the artistic swimming team. She started her swim career with Regina Synchro, a synchronized swim club in the city, but had to move to Montrealbecause of Saskatchewan's lack of competition.

Mary Beth talked about how proud she was of her daughter while Tina Chernoff, Kenzie's Saskatchewan coach, trained other swimmers in the pool in the Priddell backyard.

"It was at the university. She'd watch from the shallow pool into the deep end where the [Regina Synchro teams] were practising ... and just dreamed to be there someday. And I mean, she far surpassed that dream," Mary Beth said.

"She once told me she wished school was in the water so she didn't have to get out."

Olympic competitor highlights

Softball player Gilbert most recently showed off her swing as one of Canada's top hitters at the 2019 Pan American Games, where the team won silver. She was born in Saskatoon, but lives in the United States.

Saskatchewan is pole vaulter AnickaNewell's home away from home. She lives in the United States but holds a dual citizenship. She made her Olympic debut at Rio in 2016 after finishing second in the Canadian Championships.

Rylan Wiens, a diver from Saskatoon, won bronze at the 2021 FINA World Cup in Tokyo earlier this yearand secured his spot on Team Canada placing second at the national trial on Canada Day.

Saskatoon's Rylan Wiens dives to 10m World Cup bronze medal

3 years ago

Duration 8:51

Rylan Wiens of Saskatoon finished in third place at the FINA World Cup men's 10m platform final in Tokyo.

Swimmer Cole Pratt's sister, Halle Pratt, will also be in the water for the Olympics. Unlike her, he was born in Regina.

He punched his ticket to the Olympics after finishing second in the 100-metre backstroke at the Canadian Olympic trials. In 2017, he tied the record for most medals by a male athlete at the Canada Games with 10, five of which were gold.

Swimmer Kelsey Wog has ties to Saskatchewan, having been born in Regina, but will be representing Manitoba. She earned her place on the team by winning the 100-metre breaststroke at the Canadian Olympictrials, but also medaled in the 200-metre breaststroke and 200-metre individual medley.

You can re-live the event coverage of the ceremony on CBC TV network, CBC Gem at 7p.m. ET on Friday, as well as the the CBC Olympics app and CBC Sports' Tokyo 2020 website.