It is safe to say that New Brunswick is one of the lesser-known and least populous provinces in Canada. Therefore, it is always a treat when people from New Brunswick succeed at making a name for themselves and represent our province in a positive way. This winter, in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, three New Brunswickers competed for our country and inspired many worldwide with their skill.
Courtney Sarault is a young, short-track speed skater from Moncton on the Canadian Olympic team. Sarault has dreamt of competing in the Olympics since she was a child and one can only imagine how thrilling it must be for her to have achieved such an ambitious goal.
On Sunday, February 13th, Sarault and her team, Kim Boutin, Florence Brunelle, and Alyson Charles competed in the Women's 3000m Relay Finals. After a difficult race the Canadian team ranked fourth. You could truly see the passion these women have for their sport.
After watching Sarault out on the ice this past month, the intense drive for success that this athlete holds is evident. Sarault is one competitor to look out for and we back home in New Brunswick are honored to have someone like Sarault representing us.
Brendan Corey is another short track speed skater from New Brunswick. While he was born here in Fredericton, NB, he now resides in Sydney, Australia and is competing with the Australian Olympic team. Corey has many Australian family members, so after suffering a concussion in 2019 that prevented him from competing with the Canadian Team the following year, he decided Australia would be his next interesting journey.
During the 1000m short track speed skating quarter finals on Monday, February 7th, Corey crashed out of the race and lost his chance of a medal. While this was an unfortunate turn of events, Corey put in his all and has shown an impressive level of determination and strength. He has made New Brunswick proud with his display of skill.
Another person joining the Canadian Team is Ryan Hamilton from Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Hamilton is a Mental Performance Coach on the Men’s Hockey Team. He also works on our UNB campus as a practicing sport psychologist as well as an Associate Professor of Psychology.
With so many New Brunswick-born talents on televisions worldwide, this is definitely an inspirational time for the young athletes of New Brunswick, as well as any New Brunswicker looking to influence the world around them. Congratulations to all Olympian athletes, we can’t wait to see what you do next!