Grimsby athlete is good enough to dream
Olympic hopeful off to RBC Training Ground national finals
A young woman from Grimsby as earned the chance to take a big step on a journey that if everything falls into place would land her a spot in the Olympics.
The catch is Payton Tonnos’s Olympic sport is an event in which she has never competed — track cycling.
The Grade 10 student at Eden High School is headed to the RBC Training Ground national finals in Calgary in October after officials chose her from a pool of about 2,000 athletes who participated in 30 local evaluations sessions across the country. While completing the benchmark testing for speed, power, strength, and endurance, Tonnos figured her best shot would be at rowing.
However, the 14-year-old caught the eye of talent scouts from Cycling Canada, one of the eight Olympic sports participating in the program. Cycling Canada invited her to Milton and the national cycling centre to see how she’d do on a track. They must have liked what they saw.
“I was a little shocked, to be honest,” Tonnos said. “I was never really into cycling. It wasn’t that I disliked it. It just wasn’t a sport that ever crossed my mind.
“My brother and my dad were the ones who are into cycling. I went in there for rowing, and when cycling came up, it was cool. It’s a neat opportunity.”
The full list of 100 athletes selected for the final will be posted on Aug. 26 after the RSVP process is complete. Tonnos didn’t hesitate.
“I’m thankful that I have the opportunity — and I’m thankful for my coaches and my parents and Cycling Canada and everyone who has helped me get here,” she said. “I’m excited to see how far this goes.”
Tonnos is the only athlete on the list from the region. The trip to Calgary is all expenses paid. Thirty athletes from the national final will be named as RBC Future Olympians and receive funding and resources to train for their events.
Rowing and cross-country running are her sports of choice. In rowing, she finished third among junior high school girls at the 2019 Ontario Ergometer championships. In cross-country, she was 33rd at the provincial championships in her age group in Dundas last fall.
“I’ve been running since Grade 3,” Tonnos said. “My Grade 9 year, I had some success with cross-country. I had a coach named Jeff Lockyer. He helped train me up for that.
“In the spring, I rowed for Eden with my coach Rob Walton, and in the summer, I rowed with the St. Catharines Rowing Club. Rowing is my favourite. You push yourself to get into the good boats, so that is kind of individualistic. But there is also the team aspect. When you jell with your teammates, it is really fun.
“I’m going to continue to row and do cross-country in the fall along with this.”
This will be a whirlwind once she touches down in Calgary. Along with the athletic testing, the Olympic hopefuls also have the chance to pick the brains of Olympic champions Justin Kripps (bobsleigh, 2018), Patrick Chan (figure skating, ’18) and Penny Oleksiak (100-metre freestyle swim, ’18). They will be on-site to inspire the participants, a media release said.
In recent years, the RBC Training Ground program has tested over 7,000 athletes at 98 free local events in 35 different Canadian communities, the release added. Since 2016, RBC has provided $1.3 million in support to 87 different athletes identified through the program.
“I was never really into cycling. It wasn’t that I disliked it. It just wasn’t a sport that ever crossed my mind.” PAYTON TONNOS