GUELPH, Ont. – The University of Guelph will be well-represented in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, with a total of five athletes with University of Guelph roots set to represent Team Canada at Paris 2024. In addition to the five athletes, the University of Guelph will also have a pair of employees make the trip overseas to support our 2024 Canadian Olympians and Paralympians. See below for further details on our Gryphon Olympians who will be representing U of G at the Olympic summer games in Paris in 2024.
Former University of Guelph students representing Team Canada at Paris 2024:
| Zoe Sherar |
Women's 400m | Women's 4x400m Relay |
| Jacqueline Madogo |
Women's 100m | Women's 200m | Women's 4x200m Relay |
| Craig Thorne |
Men's 110m Hurdles |
| Sarah Douglas |
Sailing (Women's Single-Handed Dinghy) |
| Jesse Zesseu |
Men's Discus (Paralympics, F37 Class) |
University of Guelph support staff representing Team Canada at Paris 2024:
| Jason Kerr |
Personal Coach for Zoe Sherar, Jacqueline Madogo & Craig Thorne |
| Robert Winslow |
Chiropractor, Team Canada - Paralympics |
Zoe Sherar
Events at Paris 2024 = Women's 400m | Women's 4x400m Relay
Time of Competition in Paris (Eastern Time) =
(4x400m Relay)
Friday, August 9, 4:40am ET (Round 1)
Saturday, August 10, 3:22pm ET (Final)
(400m)
Monday, August 5, 5:55am ET (Round 1)
Tuesday, August 6, 5:20am ET (Repechage Round)
Wednesday, August 7, 2:45 pm ET (Semi-Final)
Friday, August 9, 2:00pm ET (Final)
As a Gryphon (Women's Track & Field):
** Spent five seasons as a Gryphon student-athlete (Women's Track & Field | 2018-19 to 2022-23)
** Completed her undergrad at U of G (Bachelor of Arts and Sciences) in spring of 2021, with specialization in economics and geography | completed her Masters at U of G in sports management in the fall of 2023
** 2x University of Guelph Athlete of the Year (2019-20 & 2022-23)
** 12x U SPORTS gold medalist during her 5 seasons (including 4x U SPORTS gold medalist in women's 300m)
** 4x national champion in Track & Field
** 4x OUA champion in Track & Field
** In January of 2020, became just the third Gryphon ever to be named a
U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian
Road to Paris 2024:
After a sensational track career as a Gryphon, Zoe has continued to impress on the national and international stage. The 24-year-old from Toronto finished 1st in the Women's 400m in Montreal in June at the 2024 Olympic Trials. Zoe is also a member of the Canadian women's 4x400m relay team that finished 4th at the 2023 and 2022 World Championships.
Jacqueline Madogo
Events at Paris 2024 = Women's 100m | Women's 200m | Women's 4x100m Relay
Time of Competition in Paris (Eastern Time) =
(100m)
Friday, August 2, 4:45am ET (Preliminary Round) and 5:50am ET (Round 1)
Saturday, August 3, 1:50pm ET (Semi-Final) and 3:20pm ET (Final)
(200m)
Sunday, August 4, 4:55am ET (Round 1)
Monday, August 5, 6:50am ET (Repechage Round) and 2:45pm ET (Semi-Final)
Tuesday, August 6, 3:40pm ET (Final)
(4x100m Relay)
Thursday, August 8, 5:10am ET (Round 1)
Friday, August 9, 1:30pm ET (Final)
As a Gryphon (Women's Track & Field):
** Attended the University of Guelph for five seasons (2018-19 to 2022-23) | Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)
** Competed with the Gryphons Women's Track & Field program for three seasons from 2019-20, 2021-22 & 2022-23 (with, what would have been her 3rd season as a Gryphon, the 2020-21 season, cancelled due to COVID)
** T&F career at Guelph = 4x U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian | 1x U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian | back-to-back U SPORTS gold medalist in women's 60m (2021-22 & 2022-23 seasons) | 5x OUA gold medalist (including twice in women's 60m) | won OUA and U
SPORTS
team titles in each of her 3 seasons with the Gryphons track program
** Women's Soccer at Guelph = competed with the Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team in each of her first two seasons at U of G (2018 & 2019), named an OUA West Second Team All-Star in women's soccer in 2019.
Road to Paris 2024:
Outside of her highly-decorated track career with the Gryphons, Jacqueline Madogo has also produced some sensational results at the national and international levels en route to booking a spot in Paris. The 24-year old from Ottawa finished 1st in the Women's 200m at the 2023 Bell Canadian Track & Field Championships in Langley, B.C. and followed that up with a pair of impressive performances this June at the 2024 Olympic Trials in Montreal where she finished 2nd in the 100m and 3rd in the 200m. Jacqueline will also be a part of Team Canada's Women's 4x100m Relay Team, which returns to the Olympic stage for the first time since Rio 2016 after having missed out on qualification in Tokyo 2020.
Craig Thorne
Events at Paris 2024 = Men's 110m Hurdles
Time of Competition in Paris (Eastern Time) =
Sunday, August 4, 5:50am ET (Men's 110m Hurdles, Round 1)
Tuesday, August 6, 4:50am ET (Men's 110m Hurdles Repechage Round)
Wednesday, August 7, 1:05pm ET (Men's 110m Hurdles Semi-Final)
Thursday, August 8, 3:45pm ET (Men's 110m Hurdles Final)
As a Gryphon (Men's Track & Field):
** Attended University of Guelph for five seasons (2019-20 to 2023-24) | Bachelor of Science (Biological Science)
** 2x U SPORTS gold medalist | 5 medals in total from U SPORTS T&F Championships (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
** U SPORTS record holder in Men's 60m Hurdles (7.77 seconds set in 2023)
** 4x OUA gold medalist | 5 medals in total from OUA T&F Championships (4 gold, 1 bronze)
Road to Paris 2024:
Craig Thorne will arrive in Paris in fine form, with the 23-year-old from Quispamsis, New Brunswick having claimed 1st-place finishes in the Men's 110m Hurdles at both the 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials in Montreal, as well as at the 2023 Canadian Track & Field Championships in Langley, B.C. Thorne also made his Diamond League debut in September of 2023 in Zurich, Switzerland. His Olympic debut will officially get underway on August 4 in France.
Jesse Zesseu
Events at Paralympic Games Paris 2024 = Men's Discus
Time of Competition in Paris (Eastern Time) = Friday, September 6, 2024 5: 50am ET (F37 Final)
As a Gryphon (Men's Track & Field):
** Attended University of Guelph for five years (2017-18 to 2021-22) | Bachelor of Arts (Political Science)
** Was part of the Gryphons Men's Track & Field program during the 2021-22 season, where he specialized in long jump
Road to Paris 2024:
Jesse Zesseu made his Para athletics world championships debut in 2023 and placed 10
th in the F37 long jump and also competed in the discus throw. A year earlier he got his first Games experience at the Canada Games with gold in the shotput and silver in the long jump. Zesseu joined the Para family as an adult as he was not aware he would be eligible. He was born with cerebral palsy after having a stroke at birth. He has 75 percent function on his right side compared to his left side.
Sarah Douglas
Events at Paris 2024 = Sailing (Women's Single-Handed Dinghy)
Time of Competition in Paris (Eastern Time) =
Friday, August 1, 9:35am (Race 1 and Race 2)
Saturday, August 2, 6:15am ET (Race 3 and Race 4)
Saturday, August 3, 8:25am ET (Race 5 and Race 6)
Sunday, August 4, 8:35am ET (Race 7 then Race 8)
Monday, August 5, 6:15am ET (Race 9 then Race 10)
Tuesday, August 6, 8:43am ET (Medal Race)
As a Gryphon:
** Toronto native Sarah Douglas graduated from the University of Guelph in 2017 with a Bachelor of Commerce in marketing management.
Road to Paris 2024:
By booking a spot in Paris, Sarah Douglas earns the title of two-time Olympian after having finished 6th in Laser Radial Sailing at Tokyo 2020. The 30-year-old from Burlington made history in her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 where her sixth-place finish in the Laser Radial (later renamed ILCA 6) was the best ever Olympic result for a Canadian woman in an individual sailing event.
Jason Kerr
Role with Team Canada at Paris 2024 = Personal Coach for Olympians Zoe Sherar, Jacqueline Madogo and
Craig Thorne
As a Gryphon:
**
Jason Kerr is the head coach of the University of Guelph men's and women's track and field programs. Under Jason's leadership, the Gryphons have pulled off the remarkable feat of sweeping both the men's and women's U SPORTS national team titles in each of the past six seasons. Along the way,
Jason Kerr has been named
U SPORTS Coach of the Year, in both men's and women's track and field, in each of the past four seasons.
Robert Winslow
Role with Team Canada at Paris 2024 = Team Canada (Paralympic), Lead Chiropractor
As a Gryphon:
** Dr. Robert Winslow has worked in Guelph at the Health and Performance Centre as a Chiropractor since 2014 after graduating from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC).
He has also served as the lead chiro for the Guelph Gryphons men's and women's track and field programs for the past eight seasons, working closely alongside Gryphon varsity track and field athletes during what has become the most successful era in program history for the Gryphons track teams. He will head to Barcelona, Spain for Team Canada's holding camp, where he will be part of a medical staff that will work with the Canadian Paralympians to help the athletes in their final preparations before competing at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
