Durham athletes to watch at Rio

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

With the start of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 5 only a few short days away, here is a look at the 10 athletes from Durham Region that will be on the hunt for gold medal glory in Brazil.

Those making their return to the Olympic games include:

Emily Batty, Age: 28, Hometown: Brooklin, Sport: Mountain biking

Details: The girl has got grit. Making her Olympic debut in London in 2012, Batty had broken her collarbone in training a few days prior to her race, yet raced anyway. She finished 24th. Now, with a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and a gold from last year’s Pan Am Games, look for Batty to try and add another medal to her collection.

Kelita Zupancic, Age: 26, Hometown: Whitby, Sport: Judo

Details: Another Canadian who made her debut in London, where she tied for ninth after having the unfortunate luck of running into three-time world champion Lucie Decosse of France (who would go on to win gold) in the second round. Zupancic has been honing her skills since then and last year captured gold at the Pan Am Games and Pan American Championships. She followed up that performance with a silver at this year’s championships.

Nikkita Holder, Age: 29, Hometown: Pickering, Sport: 100-metre hurdles 

Details: It was a busy 2015 for Holder, who raced to a bronze medal at the Pan Am Games, along with a semi-final final at the World Championships in Beijing. The year before, after giving birth to her son, she finished fifth at the World Championships. In London, Holder finished sixth, something she’ll be looking to improve on this time around.

Jessica Phoenix, Age: 32, Hometown: Uxbridge, Sport: Equestrian – Eventing

Details: Rio will be the second Olympics for the four-time Pan Am medallist. In London, Pheonix finished 22nd in the individual eventing and 13th in the team event.

Athletes making their Olmypic debut include:

Matt Hughes, Hometown: Oshawa, Age: 26, Sport: 3,000-metre steeplechase

Details: Look for Hughes to put up some solid performances come his race day on Aug. 15. A two-time NCAA champion and Pan Am gold medallist, Hughes missed out on the 2012 London Olympics and will be looking to make up for that in Rio.

Nichelle Prince, Age: 21, Sport: Women’s Soccer

Details: Unable to play at the Pan Am Games in Toronto due to injury, Prince made up for it in the Olympic qualifiers, scoring a hat trick against Guatemala to punch Canada’s ticket to Rio. A relative newcomer to the Olympic scene, Prince will be looking to contribute and improve on Canada’s bronze medal in London in 2012.

Allysha Chapman, Age: 27, Hometown: Courtice, Sport: Women’s Soccer

Details: Part of Canada’s second place finish at the Cyprus Cup last year, where she also scored her first international goal, Chapman has been making big strides since then. A part of the team with Prince that helped punch Canada’s ticket to Rio during qualifiers, Chapman also went on to help Canada secure gold at the Algarve Cup.

Chanice Chase, Age: 22, Hometown: Ajax, Sport: 400-metre hurdle, 4×400-metre relay

Details: The last two years have made all the difference for Chase who, after being named to  receive NCAA All-American honours in 2014, went on to enter the Commonwealth Games in 2015 as Canada’s top-ranked hurdler. Her performances in 2016 have crushed her previous times, setting new personal bests in the 100-metre and 400-metre hurdles.

Keegan Pereira, Age: 24, Hometown: Ajax, Sport: Men’s Field hockey

Details:  After being sidelined for most of 2015 by surgery for a torn ACL, Pereira will be looking to get back on the horse in a big way come Rio.

Brenda Bowskill, Age: 24, Hometown: Whitby, Sport: Sailing 

Details: A member of Canada’s national team since the age of 18, Bowskill has been labelled as a top up and comer in the sport of sailing. Most recently, the Whitby native put up a personal-best finish at the Laser Radial World Championships in April.