Canadian Olympic Foundation LogoCanadian Olympic Foundation

Congratulations to the 2021 FOF Award Winners!

The relationship between an athlete and coach is unique. It involves trust, respect, honesty, and when pure and deep, elevates both athlete and coach to new levels of accomplishment. With the strong foundation of a solid, supportive, mutual relationship, an athlete and coach can lift each other to the top of their sport.

This relationship between athlete and coach can be a tremendous benefit on the path to Olympic gold. And when they click, you can see it in every competition and performance. You see it in every glance, every smile, every high five, every hug. It’s palpable and it is breathtaking.

Through the Future Olympians Fund (FOF), the Canadian Olympic Foundation and its generous donors strive to uphold the values embodied by these special relationships between athlete and coach, and reward their trust in each other.

The 2021 recipients represent the fourth group of athlete-coach pairs to receive this honour. Both coach and athlete receive an award of $5,000 each year for two years to encourage them in their training. For these Olympic hopefuls, the funds can be used to lessen the financial burdens of training, travel, equipment, and development.

This prestigious honour is a celebration of the strong ties between coach and athlete. The Canadian Olympic Foundation is proud of our next generation of Olympians and their coaches selected for the FOF Awards.

Congratulations to the 2021 selection of FOF Award recipients!

Athlete Award RecipientCoaching Enhancement RecipientSportLocation
Andy AndersonSean HayesSkateboardingBC
Emeline BennettMathieu LeducSki CrossBC
Karlee BurgessSheldon ZachariasCurlingMB
Rachel ChanJennifer LeeBadmintonON
Ella Hodgson-PageauReid FarquharsonCanoe – SprintON
Pierre-Elliot PoitrasJonathan BlanchardAlpine SkiQC
Maya ZonneveldAaron BrokenshireGymnastics – ArtisticON

These phenomenal duos of coach and athlete will blaze new paths on the road to the Olympics. We can’t wait to celebrate their achievements with them!