2017 Year in Review - Day 1: The Countdown is on!

 

 

Before the focus turns to the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Korea, it’s time to reflect on what has been a fantastic 2017 for the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary (CSI Calgary). From international podium performances to pushing the limits in sport science research and innovation, CSI Calgary has a lot to be proud of and thankful for this year.

Over the next three days we’ll be highlighting three areas where CSI Calgary has taken big steps this year: Powering Podium Performances, Innovation and Education, and Partnerships.

In addition to presenting our best work and to keep things fun, we are counting down the top three Olympic and Paralympic performances of 2017 (from World Championships) by CSI Calgary supported athletes. The criteria on which these selections were made is based on the level of support the CSI Calgary provided the athlete (i.e. how much CSI Calgary contributed to the performance), the significance of the result from the individual’s standard of performance and the depth of the field in the event.

Let’s hear it for 2017!!

 

Best performances of 2017

3rd place

Olympic athlete: Vincent De Haître, Speed Skating
> Silver, 1000m

De Haître is one of Canada’s top up and coming long track speed skaters, and in 2017 he certainly arrived. The 23-year-old from Cumberland, Ontario won a silver medal in the 1000m at the 2017 World Single Distances Championships in a deep field of the world’s best. The sprint and middle-distance specialist just keeps getting better, thanks in part to the fully integrated support team provided by CSI Calgary in key areas like sport science, medicine, mental performance and nutrition.

Paralympic athlete: Brian McKeever, Para Cross-Country Skiing (Guide: Graham Nishikawa)
> Gold, 20km Visually Impaired, Gold, 10km Visually Impaired, Bronze, 4x2.5km Relay Open

You might say that Brian McKeever has nothing left to prove. Throughout his storied athletic career the 38-year-old veteran has claimed ten Paralympic Gold medals and 19 world titles, but he just keeps going back for more, including two more gold medals and one bronze at the 2017 World Championships. With full support from CSI Calgary in medicine, science, mental performance and nutrition, there’s no reason he can’t keep it going for another Paralympic Games in 2018.

CSI Calgary Initiatives

Today we highlight some of the partnerships that CSI Calgary continues to forge in the sport community.

• RBC Training Ground
CSI Calgary was engaged to plan the RBC Training Ground local qualifiers with five Alberta Sport Development Centres (ASDC) and hosted the regional finals at CSI Calgary. CSI Calgary provided the technical expertise required to successfully identify RBC Training Ground athletes with Olympic potential. The team of sport science experts led the delivery of gold standard protocols to ensure optimal data collection and analysis.

• Bowness High School HPADP
CSI Calgary partnered with Bowness High School to deliver support services in a new pilot project called the High-Performance Athlete Development Pathway (HPADP). The intent of the project is to take students interested in becoming better athletes and expose them to new sports through six week-long intensive multi-sport courses to work on general athleticism.

• Sport Product Testing
We are working with Under Armour and Lululemon to conduct sport product testing. The Under Armour project is investigating athletic footwear, beginning with understanding how underfoot softness is related to perception and biomechanics of running. The Lululemon project is collecting acceleration and 3-dimensional motion capture data on breast motion while walking and jogging to build a database of breast motion and use this understanding to build better jogging bras for females, thus contributing to performance enhancement.

 

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Kristina Groves: @kngrover
Photo by: Dave Holland @csicalgaryphoto
13/12/17