Nathan Hirayama (Men's Rugby 7s) *OLYMPIC FLAG-BEARER
Nathan Hirayama has been a mainstay for Canada Sevens since making his debut in 2006 at the age of 18. Since then he has built a global reputation as one the top playmakers in the game as his cool persona and style on the field lulls defenses into feeling they have him in check before he either breaks the line or creates for others. Nathan
Hirayama is Canada’s greatest points scorer in rugby 7s. At the end of the 2020 season he sat third all-time in the World Rugby Sevens Series scoring with 1859 points and leads Canada in tries (147) and matches played (363). He played five seasons with the Vikes while competing internationally as a member of team Canada. Nate's father, Garry Hirayama, also represented Canada in both codes of the game in the 1980s, winning 12 caps as fly-half for the national team,[3] and was also part of Canada's first sevens team to travel to Hong Kong.[4] Together they are the first-ever rugby-playing father-son duo for Canada.
Patrick Kay (Men's Rugby 7s)
Patrick Kay debuted with the senior Canadian Sevens team in 2013 at a World Rugby Sevens Series stop in Gold Coast. He became a regular fixture in the line-up during the 2014-15 season and as of the end of the 2020 season has scored 299 points in 209 career matches. Jones played with the Canadian 15s development program from 2010 to 2013. He also won the Canadian University Rugby Sevens Championship with the University of Victoria in 2013.
Mike Fuailefau (Men's Rugby 7s)
Mike Fuailefau debuted for the Canadian sevens team at the beginning of the 2013 Sevens Series in Gold Coast and scored his first try in Tokyo. Later that year he was selected to the World Cup Sevens roster, where he started all six games and scored one try, helping Canada finish ninth and become Plate Champions. In 2020 he helped Canada win bronze at the Canada Sevens Series in Vancouver, their best-ever finish on home soil. At the end of the 2020 season, Fuailefau sat fourth in matches played and ninth in tries all-time for Canada in the Sevens Series.Fuailefau was a member of the RAN Sevens-winning team in 2019 which secured Canada’s spot at Tokyo 2020.
His dad, Iosefa, was an inside centre for Samoa’s national team
Lucas Hammond (Men's Rugby 7s)
Lucas Hammond made his senior rugby sevens debut with Canada at the Port Elizabeth stop of the 2012 Sevens Series, scoring his first try. The following year he was named to the World Cup Sevens roster, helping Canada become Plate Champions, finishing in ninth place overall. He was also on the 2018 World Cup team that finished 12th.
Pamphinette Buisa (Women's Rugby 7s)
Pamphinette Buisa first joined the Canadian program in 2014. That year, as a member of the development team, she helped Team Canada win silver at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing. In 2016, she competed at the FISU World University Championship where Canada also won silver. In 2017 while attending the University of Victoria, she helped the Vikes win the Canada West title and qualify the team for its first ever national championship.
Buisa joined the senior national team for the 2017-18 World Rugby Sevens Series. She made her World Cup Sevens debut in 2018 in San Francisco.
Patrick Keane (Rowing - Men's lightweight Double Skulls)
Patrick Keane made his international debut for Canada at the 2013 World Rowing Junior Championships while he was still in the 10
th grade in high school. In 2015, he competed above his age group at the first of three straight World Rowing U23 Championships. He and the lightweight quad sculls won the B final and Keane was later named Rowing Canada’s Junior Athlete of the Year. Keane will return to UVic to row for the Vikes this season.
Kai Langerfeld (Rowing - Men's Pair)
Kai is quoted as saying that the first time he rowed with his dad, he thought it was "the worst sport I ever tried." But here we are. The Victoria native, who began rowing at UVic in 2009, is built to be an athlete, standing at 6'4 and 220 pounds. His rowing career has seen him cross off a number of impressive achievements, including a pair of gold medals at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto and a trio of bronze medals at international competitions. Kai's father, York, competed at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and is an integral part of UVic's women's program as an assistant coach alongside head coach Rick Crawley. The Tokyo Olympics will be Kai's second.
Caileigh Filmer (Rowing - Women's Pair) *BRONZE MEDAL
Caileigh Filmer made her Olympic debut at Rio 2016 as a member of the women’s eight that finished fifth. That was two years before she made her debut at the World Rowing Championships in 2018, where she and Hillary Janssens won the gold medal in the pair. In their first year competing together internationally as seniors, they finished more than two seconds ahead of the runners-up from New Zealand to become world champions. Leading up to the worlds, they had won World Cup gold and silver.
Avalon Wasteneys (Rowing - Women's Eight) *GOLD MEDAL
Before discovering rowing, Avalon Wasteneys was a competitive cross-country skier and a medallist at the junior national championships in 2014. But her perspective on the sport changed as she was nearing the end of high school and her parents mentioned rowing as something for her to try because she could do it while pursuing post-secondary education. After accepting admission to the University of Victoria, she tried out for the Vikes’ novice rowing team and made the team. She decided to attend an RBC Training Ground combine in 2016 in the hopes of being identified as a future talent in rowing and gain access to funding. She was named the top performer at her qualifying event and went on to win the B.C. Regional Final. Set in her new sport, Wasteneys won three gold medals for Team BC at the 2017 Canada Games.
James Kirkpatrick (Men's Field Hockey)
James Kirkpatrick has more than 100 senior national caps since making his debut in 2010 in a match against the United States. He was a member of the Canadian team for the 2015 FIH World League, achieving a career highlight by defeating New Zealand in a shootout to clinch the team’s spot for the 2016 Olympic Games. Aside from his time with the Vikes, he also played at Hofstra University in the US.
Brenden Bisset (Men's Field Hockey)
Brenden Bissett made his senior national team debut in 2011 and has collected more than 135 caps since. Before joining the senior team, Bissett had extensive international experience at the junior level, including a silver medal at the 2012 Junior Pan American Championship and an appearance at the 2013 FIH Junior World Cup. Bissett was part of the senior squad that won silver at the 2015 Pan Am Games, scoring one goal in the tournament. A few weeks earlier he was on the team that defeated New Zealand in a shootout in the quarterfinals of the FIH World League Semifinals, a win that would eventually secure Canada’s qualification for Rio 2016. He represented Canada at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the 2018 FIH World Cup, helping the team finish 11th at both.
Matt Sarmento (Men's Field Hockey)
Sarmento originally planned to be a part of the Vikes soccer team, but when that plan fell through he tried out for and made the men's field hockey team. Fast forward a number of years and Sarmento has more than 50 senior national caps. He has been part of a number of big Canadian moments since making his international debut in 2011, including winning a quarterfinal shootout over New Zealand at the FIH World League Semifinals to help Canada secure qualification for RIO 2016. He also helped Canada capture silver on home soil at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, scoring three goals on seven shots.
Keegan Pereira (Men's Field Hockey)
Pereira has been on both sides of the UVic/UBC rivalry, suiting up for the Vikes before shifting to play for the Thunderbirds. Born in Mumbai, India, he grew up in Ontario and made his international debut in Victoria against India in 2009. Since then, he's combined for more than 90 senior caps and helped Canada win silver at the 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara. Sidelined by an ACL injury for most of 2015, Pereira is back and ready to make a mark as he gets set to participate in his first Olympics.
Catharine Pendrel (Mountain Biking)
Pendrel, a two-time world champion, is originally from New Brunswick but studied at UVic, where she met future coach and fellow Canadian Olympic team member Dan Proulx. Her first international competition was at the 2004 World Championships in Les Gets, France where she finished 46th. She made her mark in the lead-up to Beijing, winning gold at the 2007 Pan Am Games before finishing fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics, just nine seconds out of a medal position. Catharine will compete in Tokyo just five months after giving birth to her daughter.
Matthew Sharpe (Triathlon)
Sharpe is not a current or former Vike but a University of Victoria Student and Island-grown athlete hailing from Campbell River, BC. Sharpe, who competes in triathlon, got his start as a swimmer and found early success in triathlon while quickly progressing through the Canadian ranks. A two-time National Junior Series Champion, he won the 2010 Canadian Junior Championships and was ninth at the 2010 World Junior Championships. This will be Sharpe's first Olympic appearance.
Celina Toth (Diving)
Tosh is another Olympic athlete with UVic connections. The 2019 alumna graduated from the University of Victoria with a degree in psychology and plans to pursue a masters in social work.
Toth has been representing Canada internationally for more than a decade, winning seven FINA Grand Prix medals since her first in 2015, all of them of them on the 10m platform. In February 2019, she captured her first Grand Prix gold in Rostock, Germany. She has competed at two editions of the Universiade, winning individual 10m platform bronze in 2017 after a gold in the 10m synchro event in 2015. She was also part of Team Canada at the 2018 Commonwealth Games where she finished ninth in the 10m platform.
Joining the Vikes in 2014, Julianne Zussman entered her first full season as the assistant coach of the women’s rugby team. A Canadian national 15’s team member with 26 caps under her belt, Zussman helped make Canadian rugby history when the women made it to 2014 World Cup final capturing the silver medal following an upsetting 21-9 loss to England.
Zussman is one of the officials named to the Olympic crew of 22. In 2019, the three-time Rugby World Cup veteran became the first Canadian test player to referee at the international level on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. The crew of individuals were selected by the World Rugby’s Match Official Selection Committee, following a comprehensive review of performances and fitness. All selected referees have proven themselves on the annual HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and many also featured at the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco and the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
