York Region residents can cheer on 19 athletes at the summer Olympics starting Friday, including one from Newmarket and three from Aurora.
The athletes will be competing in the likes of soccer, badminton, swimming, athletics, shooting, table tennis, rugby and volleyball starting July 26 in Paris. They will join hundreds of Canadian athletes at the game vying to represent the country well.
York Region chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson sent out a message of congratulations and appreciation to the athletes.
“The honour of representing Canada at the Olympic Games is a testament to the effort, sacrifices and perseverance of these athletes and their coaches, families, friends and communities,” Emmerson said in a news release.
From Newmarket, swimmer Alexander Axon will be competing for the men’s relay team. In neighbouring Aurora, Eugene Wang will be competing in table tennis, Stephen Maar will be in volleyball and Andrew Nembhard will be competing in basketball. Aurora Barbarian Chloe Daniels, of Sutton, is competing in rugby sevens.
The full list of York Region athletes at the games is as follows:
- Andre De Grasse: Athletics - Markham
- Christopher Morales Williams: Athletics - Vaughan
- Michelle Li: Badminton - Markham
- Brian Yang: Badminton - Richmond Hill
- Andrew Nembhard: Basketball - Aurora
- Sam Schachter: Beach Volleyball - Richmond Hill
- Ruien (Angel) Xiao: Fencing - Markham
- Chloe Daniels: Rugby - Georgina (Sutton)
- Kailen Sheridan: Soccer - Markham
- Jayde Riviere: Soccer - Markham
- Jade Rose: Soccer - Markham
- Adriana Leon: Soccer - King
- Alex Axon: Swimming - Newmarket
- Shannon Westlake: Shooting - Georgina
- Eugene Wang: Table Tennis - Aurora
- Jeremy Hazin: Table Tennis - Richmond Hill
- Milos Raonic: Tennis - Vaughan
- Stephen Maar: Volleyball - Auroara
- Justin Lui: Volleyball - Markham
“For the next two weeks, residents will join with others around the globe to share in the excitement and joy of these tremendous athletes,” Emmerson said. “Good luck and we know you will all make us proud.”
