Wrestler forged own way in pursuing Olympic dream
Steen’s parents both competed in track at the Games but he had another passion
Tecumseh’s Jordie Steen is trying to follow his own path to the 2020 Olympic Games.
Steen is the son of 1988 Canadian Olympic decathlon medallist Dave Steen while his mother, Andrea (Page) Steen, ran hurdles for Canada at the 1984 Olympic Games.
But track and field is not the dream the 28-year-old Steen chose to pursue. He will make his attempt to earn a Canadian roster spot at the 2020 Pan-american Olympic wrestling qualifier, which will be held Friday through Sunday in Ottawa.
“It’s super exciting,” the fivefoot-11, 215-pound Steen said. “I’ve been trying for a while and it’s cool because I follow in the footsteps of my parents.”
Steen has heard the Olympic stories from his parents, but he was never pushed to make it his dream.
“They never pushed me to try to make a team,” Steen said.
And track and field simply wasn’t his idea of following the dream while playing hockey and football growing up and attending St. Anne high school.
“Hockey, all I’d do is run around and hit and I thought might be something,” Steen said.
But as he grew older, Steen realized it was the physical part of sports that he most enjoyed.
“I don’t know, I always liked combat sports,” Steen said. “I knew that’s something I wanted to do. I started boxing, but I can’t box.”
He tried jiu-jitsu, but it was a stop at L’essor High School where he found the sport that would put him on the path for his Olympic dream.
“I drove to L’essor to watch,” Steen said. “A couple of those guys had national medals. I was looking at these guys and thinking, ‘These guys are beatable.’ ”
But there has been a lot of learning on the journey to get him to this point.
A U Sports national champion, Steen won his first medal for Canada at the Jeux de la Francophone in 2013 by taking silver, but came back to win gold in 2017.
He is a two-time Commonwealth Wrestling Championship medallist, as well as winning medals at the Pan-american championship and Commonwealth Games.
“Aggression and adrenalin only works for a little while,” Steen said. “When people start getting better, they’re more technical.”
Steen’s cross-ankle move, where he’ll cross an opponent’s legs and roll them around the mat, is one of the best in the sport.
“Everyone does it, but I’ve been known for it,” Steen said. “Even though they know it’s coming, I can still do it.”
He tore his hamstring before the 2016 Olympic qualifier and had to fight from the bottom up. He won eight matches, but lost in the final. Still, Canada named him an alternate for the team.
Now, he’s hoping to seize that opportunity this weekend.
“Wrestling is one of those sports where you tend to get better results as you get older,” Steen said.
“They say you peak between 28 and 32, and I’m right at that point.”
He’s one of seven competitors in the men’s 97 kilogram division with the top two finishers earning an Olympic berth.
“If not, there’s a last-chance event, but I’m not thinking of that,” Steen said.
“I know everyone I’m going to be fighting.”
He’s one of three area athletes looking to qualify for Canada, which has 16 wrestlers entered in the event.
Tecumseh’s Linda Morais, who won a world championship last year, will compete in the women’s 57 kg division while Windsor’s Jessie Macdonald, another world champion, will compete in the 50 kg division.
“Having three (from the area attempting to qualify) is pretty crazy,” Steen said.