Our Canadians
Meet the Hamilton-area athletes and staff who will be representing Canada at the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games
Ian Fehrman
Men’s softball Age: 35 Birthplace: Simcoe Hometown: Townsend Position: infielder Grew up playing ball in Jarvis and Hagersville
Member of men’s national team since 2006
Part of Canada’s silver-medal team at the Pan-American championships in 2006
Has been to seven national championships, winning twice and has represented Canada twice at the world championships
At the 2009 Worlds, he was among the top hitters with a .517 average
Started playing softball at age four
Raymond Dykstra
Javelin Age: 23 Birthplace: Grimsby Hometown: Grimsby Won the national javelin title in 2014 Started throwing javelin at age 14 Four NCAA championship appearances
Anthony Romaniw
800m Age: 24 Birthplace: Hamilton Hometown: Hamilton Won 800m silver at the 2013 Canadian championships, bronze in 2014
Multiple medals at the CIS championships Club: Speed River TFC St. Thomas More Catholic High School graduate
Adam van Koeverden
Kayak sprint Age: 33 Birthplace: Toronto Hometown: Oakville Four-time Olympic medalist, the most by a Canadian paddler
Former McMaster University valedictorian
Canada’s only double medallist in Athens Olympics 2004
His mother signed him up at the Burloak Canoe Club when he was 13
Brady Reardon
Kayak sprint Age: 29 Birthplace: Burlington Hometown: Burlington Second generation Olympian Grew up in the sport because both of his parents paddled
Began racing K-1 internationally in 2012 and won a silver medal in the first K-1 500m race of the World Cup season
Always drinks a Guinness before race day
Kathleen Fraser
Kayak sprint Age: 29 Birthplace: Pierrefond, Que. Hometown: Oakville Won first World Cup medal, bronze in K-2 200m in 2011
Member of the K-4 500m gold medal crew at 2011 Pan Am Games
Won a World Cup silver medal in the K-2 1000m in 2014
Started the sport at age 14 during a summer program at Pointe-Claire Canoe Club
Mark Oldershaw
Canoe sprint Age: 32 Birthplace: Burlington Hometown: Burlington Son of coach Scott Oldershaw Third generation Olympian, fifth member of family to compete in Olympics
Family legacy in canoe/kayak began with grandfather Bert, who founded the Mississauga Canoe Club in 1958 Bronze medal at London 2012 Olympics Won gold in two events at the 2001 World Junior Championships, making his first mark on the international scene
Seven years old when he was first in a boat by himself
Megan Timpf
Women’s softball Age: 31 Birthplace: Simcoe Hometown: Port Dover Joined the Senior Women’s National Team in 2007 and won silver at the Pan Am Games
Competed at 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Canada finished fourth Won silver medal at 2011 Pan Am Games Member of the 2009 and 2013 Pan Am Championship teams that won silver
Played in the 2012 and 2014 International Softball Federation Women’s World Championships
Has been a consultant and writer for Softball Canada’s Technical Manual
Logan White
Women’s softball (alternative) Age: 23 Hometown: Brantford Played for Wayne State University in Detroit
2010 graduate of Pauline Johnson Collegiate and Vocational Institute
Erika Polidori
Women’s softball Age: 23 Birthplace: London, Ont. Hometown: Brantford Joined the junior women’s national team in 2010
Represented Canada at the 2011 ISF junior women’s world championship
Gained spot on senior national team in 2013, competing in the World Cup of Softball and the Pan Am championship Started playing softball at age six Does her makeup and hair before every game as a ritual
Shona Thorburn
Women’s basketball Age: 33 Birthplace: Oxford, England Hometown: Hamilton Westdale Secondary School Position: point guard Nine years with the Canadian national team 107 international games played Bronze with Canada at FIBA Americas 2011
Drafted seventh overall in the WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx in 2006
Played all nine exhibition games with senior women’s national team in 2014
Kia Nurse
Women’s basketball Age: 19 Birthplace: Hamilton Hometown: Hamilton Position: point guard St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Hamilton
Bronze medal at 2012 FIBA world championship as team captain
Four years with the Canadian national team 55 international games played Averaged 10 points, 24.67 minutes and 2.50 assists per game in the FIBA Americas tournament in 2013
Member of 2011 U16 Cadette National Team that took part in the U16 FIBA Americas championships held in Mexico, placed third.
Saicha Grant-Allen
Women’s basketball (alternate) Age: 20 Hometown: Hamilton Position: power forward Glendale Secondary School Four years with the Canadian national team 33 international games played Member of 2011 U16 Cadette National Team that took part in the U16 FIBA Ameri- cas championships held in Mexico, placed third
Member of development women’s national team that placed first in the Jones Cup in Taiwan, averaging 21 minutes, five rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 8.4 points per game
Autumn Mills
Women’s baseball Age: 26 Birthplace: Toronto Hometown: Burlington Selected for Canadian women’s national team at age 16
Competed in five IBAF World Cups, won three medals
Played boys baseball as a kid because she didn’t know about the opportunity for girls to play the sport
Started playing T-ball at age four
Kate Psota
Women’s baseball Age: 29 Birthplace: Burlington Hometown: Burlington Won four medals in six tournaments Named national team MVP in 2009 and 2010
In 2010 and 2012 she was a World Cup allstar at first base
Started playing t-ball at age 4/5
Sean MacKinnon
Cycling track Age: 19 Hometown: Hamilton Spent four months racing in Europe with the national team program in 2014
Won bronze and gold medals at Canadian championships in January 2015
Joseph Veloce
Cycling track Age: 26 Birthplace: St. Catharines Residence: Ancaster Olympic debut in 2012 competing in keirin
Graduated from McMaster University with bachelor of engineering degree
Competed at his first junior national championships in 2006
Set then-Canadian 200m record at the 2013 Pan Am championships
Competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Diane Creech
Equestrian (alternate) Age: 52 Caistor Centre Horse: Robbie W Owner: Doug Leatherdale
Eleanor Harvey
Fencing Age: 20 Hometown: Hamilton Appeared six times at the FIE world junior championships, won silver in 2014 and 2015
Began competing at senior Pan Am Championships in 2012, recorded careerhigh placement at the event in 2015 (finishing seventh)
Started fencing at age 10
Kevin Lytwyn
Artistic gymnastics Age: 24 Birthplace: Burlington Hometown: Stoney Creek Five-time world championship team member
Won three medals at 2014 Commonwealth Games
Started gymnastics at age 9
Maegan Chant
Artistic gymnastics Age: 18 Birthplace: Halifax Hometown: Waterdown Won all-around bronze and vault gold at the Canadian championships
Won pair of medals at Pacific Rim championships in 2014
Started gymnastics at age three
Mike Green
Racquetball Age: 41 Birthplace: Hamilton Hometown: Hamilton Silver medal from 2003 Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo
Won combined total of 18 Canadian open championship titles
Holds Canadian record for most titles held by male athlete
Competed for Canada 30 times internationally
Enjoys flipping houses
Lee Parkhill
Sailing Age: 26 Birthplace: Oakville Hometown: Oakville Competed in his first national championships in 2006
Trains out of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto
Started sailing lessons at age eight, and racing competitively at 13
Adam Bouchard Men’s soccer Age: 19 Hometown: Oakville Signed with Toronto FC II of the United Soccer League in 2015
Invited to first Canadian under-17 camp in 2013
Started playing at age four with Burlington Youth Soccer Club
Kinley McNicoll Women’s soccer Age: 21 Birthplace: Oakville Hometown: Oakville Named captain of Canada’s 2014 FIFA U-20 World Cup team that made quarter-finals
Scored gold medal-winning goal against Mexico in the 2010 CONCACAF U-17 championship
Plays for Wisconsin Badgers, has 18 goals, 28 assists in 64 games in three seasons
Evan White Swimming Age: 19 Birthplace: Oakville Hometown: Oakville Qualified for first senior national team in 2014
Named to junior national team in 2012 when he competed at the Junior Pan Pacific championships
Double medallist in the individual medleys at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in 2013
Began swimming at age eight
Tera Van Beilen Swimming Age: 22 Birthplace: Mississauga Hometown: Oakville Won three medals including gold in the 100m breaststroke at the Youth Olympic Games in 2010 FINA world championship debut in 2013 Learned to swim at age five in backyard pool, started swimming competitively at age nine
Zack Chetrat Swimming Age: 24 Birthplace: Toronto Hometown: Oakville Named to the FINA world championship team in 2013
Represented Canada at the 2010 Pan Pacific championships
In 2014 he became the first Varsity Blues (University of Toronto) student-athlete to be named Male Athlete of the Year three times
Started swimming age nine
Kyle Jones Triathlon Age: 30 Birthplace: Hamilton Hometown: Oakville Won Canadian junior title in 2003 Made World Cup debut in 2005 Finished fourth at Pan Am Games at Rio 2007 and Guadalajara 2011
Did first Kids of Steel triathlon at age 10
Andrew Yorke Triathlon Age: 26 Birthplace: Mississauga Hometown: Caledon East Honours history degree from McMaster University, graduated in 2013 First international triathlon in 2007 Finished fourth in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
Finished fourth in 2015 World Cup in March
Before every race he gets a haircut, shaves his legs and listens to the same two songs
Dan Lewis Indoor volleyball Age: 39 Birthplace: Toronto Hometown: Oakville Position: libero Plays professionally for Rennes Volley 35 in France
Part of Canadian team that finished bestever seventh at 2014 FIVB world champion- ships
Won the Polish championship twice and Slovenian championship four times
Competed in Pan Am Games in 1999 for beach volleyball
Michelle Fazzari Wrestling Age: 27 Birthplace: Hamilton Hometown: Caledonia Won first national title in 2012 Competed at Pan Am championships in 2006 where she won silver and bronze
Returned to Pan Am in 2014 to win a gold medal
First international victory at 2007 Commonwealth championships
Started wrestling on a dare with high school friends