Maple Ridge teen identified as a potential Olympian

Maple Ridge’s Avery MacDonald, 17, has been identified as a potential Olympic athlete after reaching the RBC Training Ground national final. The rising speed-climbing competitor is a finalist in the Canadian Olympic Committee’s official cross-country talent search.

More than 3,000 athletes aged 14 to 25, representing a wide range of sports, took part in free local qualifying events across Canada. At an event in Surrey, MacDonald completed core tests of speed, strength, power and endurance before Olympic talent scouts. She was among the 100 athletes judged to have strong Olympic potential who advanced to the national final on Oct. 3 in Toronto.

MacDonald said she was excited to advance and viewed the final as a great opportunity. Thirty-five of the 100 finalists will receive funding, a place in the national development program and an accelerated path to the Olympics. Funding can cover costs including coaching, transportation, travel, equipment and nutrition.

Kraig Devlin, high performance director at Climbing Escalade Canada, said MacDonald is Climbing Canada’s top female speed development athlete, ranks first in its current speed ranking and priority structure, and holds the Canadian women’s speed record. He said she already competes internationally and stood out in sport-specific testing, where the evaluator identified her as the athlete they would select first from that group.

Speed climbing is MacDonald’s strongest event, and she holds the senior women’s national record. She has also won national gold medals in bouldering and lead climbing. A Grade 12 student at Maple Ridge Secondary, she trains three or four times a week at climbing facilities in the Lower Mainland and has competed since she was eight years old.

MacDonald said she likes the variety in climbing and the continual challenge of getting faster, noting that even one hundredth of a second can make a difference.

At the national final, athletes will again be tested for speed, power, strength and endurance against sport-specific, high-performance benchmarks under the supervision of program sport partners. Anthropomorphic measurements, including height and wingspan, sport-specific testing and competitive sport history will also help determine who receives funding. RBC will cover transportation, hotel and food costs for finalists.

RBC Training Ground alumni and several Olympic medallists will join the finalists in Toronto. Eleven program graduates competed for Team Canada at the recent Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games. Since it began in 2016, RBC Training Ground has identified potential in more than 23,000 athletes and helped 28 Canadian athletes become Olympians across four Olympic Games. Those alumni have contributed 14 medals to Canada’s Olympic legacy.