Harnett returns to Team Canada as chef de mission

Feature photo: Curt Harnett hands his Canadian flag to a rider at the TO2015.

A familiar face returns to the helm of the Canadian Olympic mission team this year with Curt Harnett as chef de mission.

The three-time Olympic medallist was Team Canada’s chef de mission at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games during which Canadian athletes took home the most impressive medal haul in national history.

On Monday, it was learned Harnett will reprise his role as chef de mission for Team Canada at Rio 2016, replacing Olympic champion Jean-Luc Brassard, who stepped down for business and personal reasons, as per a Canadian Olympic Committee release.

Harnett joins assistant chef de mission and Olympic champion Carol Huynh in the mentoring role. Also joining them is three-time Olympic medallist Isabelle Charest in an additional assistant chef de mission capacity.

The maple leaf nation selected its first official athletes to the Rio 2016 squad on Sunday night, when 27 swimmers were named to Team Canada.