The Beijing 2022 Olympics will take place from February 4 – 20. Here are the Manitoba athletes to keep an eye on… good luck to them all! GO TEAM CANADA!
Alexa Scott
Long Track Speed Skating
Hometown: Clandeboye, Manitoba
Alexa Scott represented Canada at the ISU World Junior Championships in 2018, 2019, and 2020. In her third appearance, she won the allround bronze medal thanks to her top-five finishes in the 500m and 1000m and top-10 finishes in the 1500m and 3000m.
Earlier in 2019-20, Scott won team sprint gold in the neo-senior event at the ISU Junior World Cup in Enschede, Netherlands, followed a day later by a silver medal in the junior 1500m. More medals followed at the Junior World Cup in Minsk, where she won silver in the junior 1000m and 1500m.
Just before her last junior worlds, Scott competed in her first senior international event, the Four Continents Championships, where she won silver with the team pursuit and just missed the podium with her fourth-place finishes in the 1000m and 1500m. After that success in early 2020, Scott would not compete again until the fall of 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the Canadian Long Track Championships in October 2021, Scott posted top-five finishes in the 1000m, 1500m, and 3000m and was named to her first senior World Cup team.
Scott represented Team Manitoba at the 2019 Canada Winter Games where she won gold medals in the 1000m, 3000m and mass start.
Ashton Bell
Ice Hockey (Women)
Hometown: Deloraine, Manitoba
Ashton Bell made her debut at the IIHF Women’s World Championship in 2021, just two years after switching to playing defence rather than forward – a decision made before her junior year of university in 2019-20. She scored one goal and added two assists as Canada won gold for its first world title since 2012.
Bell first represented Canada at the 2016 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, where she led the team in scoring with six points in five games and was selected to the tournament all-star team. The following year she was named captain of the Canadian squad and led the team to a second straight silver. She was chosen one of the top-three players on the team as voted by the coaches. In 2018, Bell skated with the U22 national development team for the first time.
Bell joined the University of Minnesota-Duluth of the NCAA for 2017-18 and was second in team scoring as a freshman. Her breakout year came as a junior after her transition to defence. She was selected to the All-WCHA First Team, leading the division in points by a defenceman (32). The next season she was named captain and led the Bulldogs back to the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time in over a decade by scoring the overtime goal in their quarterfinal win over Cornell. She was named to the Frozen Four All-Star Team, a Second-Team All-American, and the WHCA Defenseman of the Year, while also being a WCHA All-Academic team member for the third straight year.
Dawn McEwen
Curling
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
In her Olympic debut at Sochi 2014, Dawn McEwen played lead for the first Canadian women’s curling team to win gold since Nagano 1998. The team posted a perfect 11-0 record en route to the title, making them the first women’s curling team to ever go undefeated in Olympic competition. McEwen was the top lead in the tournament, curling at 92 per cent, including a near perfect 99 per cent in the gold medal game.
McEwen joined forces with skip Jennifer Jones as lead in 2007. In 2008 they won the first of three straight Tournaments of Hearts as well as the world title. They added a world bronze medal in 2010 after finishing fourth at the 2009 World Championships.
McEwen returned to the world championships with Team Jones in 2015 and won the silver medal. After missing out on qualifying for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Team Jones won the Tournament of Hearts and went on to post an undefeated record at the 2018 World Championships as they won the gold medal.
McEwen has won five national titles in her 12 appearances at the Tournament of Hearts. In 2019, she was voted as the best female lead in Canadian curling history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, reporters, and elite curlers.
Heather McLean
Long Track Speed Skating
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Heather McLean made her World Cup debut in 2013-14, competing in the first two stops of the circuit. The following season she was on the World Cup roster full time and competed at both the World Single Distances Championships and World Sprint Championships.
McLean had a breakout season in 2015-16, earning her first individual World Cup medal, a 500m bronze, in Inzell, Germany in December. She added two more 500m bronzes before the season was done, including one at the World Cup Final in Heerenveen, Netherlands with her parents in attendance. At the World Sprint Championships that year, she finished second in one of the 500m races.
But that summer, something felt off as she tried to resume training. Emotionally exhausted and unmotivated, she was eventually diagnosed with anxiety and depression. In researching how to cope with mental illness, she realized the importance of being honest about her feelings and now focuses a lot on recovery and self-care. With that fresh mindset, McLean posted her career-best finish at the World Single Distances Championships in 2017 when she finished fifth in the 500m at the Gangneung Oval in PyeongChang to be Canada’s top skater in the event. She was also the top Canadian woman at the 2017 World Sprint Championships with her career-best seventh-place finish.
McLean had served as a forerunner at Vancouver 2010, skating around the Richmond Olympic Oval to test the timing system before each event, an experience she has called the “most amazing three weeks” of her life. She made her official Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018 where she competed in the 500m and 1000m.
McLean won her first career medal at the World Single Distances Championships in 2019 when she captured silver with the team sprint. In January 2021, she earned her first individual World Cup medal in five years when she won a 500m bronze in the bubble in Heerenveen. She went on to post her best individual result in four years at the World Single Distances Championships, finishing seventh in the 500m. While others might have struggled with the isolation forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, McLean believes she thrived while training on her own in 2020 as she built up her self-confidence and realized she was the only one who could push her to achieve her goals.
Jennifer Jones
Curling
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
One of Canada’s most successful female curlers ever, Jennifer Jones is an Olympic champion, two-time world champion, and six-time national champion.
In 2014, Jones led her team into an Olympic Winter Games for the first time after missing out on two previous opportunities to qualify at the Canadian Curling Trials for Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010. At Sochi 2014, Jones’ team – which included third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jill Officer, and lead Dawn McEwen – posted a perfect 11-0 record en route to Canada’s first women’s curling gold since Nagano 1998. They were the first women’s curling team to go undefeated in Olympic competition. Jones was the top skip throughout the tournament, curling at 86 per cent.
Jones came to national prominence at the 2005 Tournament of Hearts when she won her first Canadian title thanks to “The Shot”, a difficult in-off that scored her four points on her final stone. The team went on to finish fourth at the world championships. She went on to win three consecutive Tournaments of Hearts in 2008, 2009 and 2010. She captured her first world title in 2008 and added a world bronze medal in 2010 after finishing fourth at the 2009 World Championships
Jones returned to the world championships in 2015 after winning her fifth national title. She came home from those worlds with the silver medal. After missing out on qualifying for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Jones won her sixth national title and went on to post an undefeated record at the 2018 World Championships as she won the gold medal.
Jones played in her 16th career Tournament of Hearts in 2021 (second-most all-time) and is the career leader in games won at the Canadian women’s championship. Jones has won nine career Grand Slam of Curling titles, including a record six Players’ Championships women’s titles.
Jocelyn Peterman
Curling
Residence: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Jocelyn Peterman fulfilled a lifelong dream in 2016 when, as the second for Team Chelsea Carey, she competed at her first Tournament of Hearts at just 22 years old. The dream got even better as they won the national title, sending Peterman to her first world championship where they made it to the bronze medal game.
In 2017, Peterman and Team Carey won the bronze medal at the Tournament of Hearts and were later the runners-up to Team Homan at the Canadian Curling Trials to determine Team Canada for PyeongChang 2018. At the end of the 2017-18 season, Peterman decided to move to Winnipeg to join Team Jennifer Jones, taking over the second position from Jill Officer who had decided to retire.
In her first season with Team Jones, Peterman won the 2018 Canada Cup and competed at the 2019 Tournament of Hearts. In 2020, they earned the wild card into the Tournament of Hearts where they went on to win the bronze medal.
Peterman has also enjoyed success in mixed doubles. In 2016, she and partner Brett Gallant won the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials, the first ever mixed doubles event they had entered together. They would go on to win the 2019 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship, which sent them to the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship where they won the silver medal.
As a junior, Peterman skipped her own team to the national title in 2012 and went on to compete at the 2012 World Junior Championships.
Jocelyne Larocque
Ice Hockey (Women)
Hometown: Ste. Anne, Manitoba
Jocelyne Larocque has been a member of Canada’s National Women’s Team since 2008. She made her IIHF Women’s World Championship debut in 2011 and has since won two gold, five silver and one bronze. At the 2021 World Championship, Larocque had her highest scoring tournament yet with four points. She assisted on both the game-tying and overtime goals in the gold medal game against the United States.
In her Olympic debut at Sochi 2014, Larocque was Canada’s top scorer on defence with one goal and one assist, helping the team capture its fourth straight gold medal. She was named assistant captain and registered one assist at PyeongChang 2018 as Canada came away with the silver medal following a shootout loss to Team USA.
Larocque also has four gold and four silver medals from the Four Nations Cup dating back to her first appearance with the senior team in 2008. Larocque began competing internationally with the under-22 national team in 2007, winning three gold medals at the Nations Cup over several years with the development squad.
Larocque began her collegiate career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2007-08 and helped her team win the NCAA national title as a freshman. The following season she was named an NCAA First Team All-American, a first for a Bulldog defenceman, as Minnesota-Duluth made it to the Frozen Four. Larocque was centralized with the national team in the lead up to Vancouver 2010 but after being released she returned to school and helped Minnesota-Duluth win another NCAA championship in 2009-10. She was named team captain as a senior and voted the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, again named a First Team All-American, and was also a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award. She finished as the highest scoring defenseman in school history with 105 points.
After graduation she played with the Manitoba Maple Leafs of the WWHL before joining Alberta of the CWHL in 2012-13. After Sochi 2014, Larocque was traded to Brampton where she assumed the captaincy in 2015-16. Larocque missed nearly the entire 2018 CWHL season due to Olympic centralization, but she returned to the Thunder for the end of the regular season and playoffs, going on to help the team lift the Clarkson Cup. The CWHL would fold following the 2019 season, after which Larocque joined the PWHPA, playing for the Toronto-based team during the Dream Gap Tours in 2020 and 2021.
Kaitlyn Lawes
Curling
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
At PyeongChang 2018, Kaitlyn Lawes teamed with John Morris to win gold in the inaugural Olympic mixed doubles curling tournament. They posted a 6-1 record in the round robin, their only loss coming against Norway in their opening match. But they got their revenge by defeating the Norwegians 8-4 in the semifinal before a dominant 10-3 win in six ends over Switzerland in the gold medal game.
That was Lawes’ second straight Olympic gold medal. Four years earlier, she was the third on the team skipped by Jennifer Jones that won gold at Sochi 2014. They were the first women’s team to ever go undefeated through the Olympic tournament, posting a perfect 11-0 record as they won Canada’s first Olympic gold in women’s curling since Nagano 1998.
Lawes had joined that foursome, which also included second Jill Officer and lead Dawn McEwen, for the 2010-11 season. Together, they won six Manitoba provincial titles (2011-13, 2015-16, 2018). They took the national title at the 2015 Tournament of Hearts, going on to win silver at the 2015 World Women’s Championship. Lawes also won silver in 2011 and 2013 and bronze in 2012 and 2016 at the national championships. Lawes was an all-star third at the Tournament of Hearts in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016.
While Lawes was preparing to compete at PyeongChang 2018, Team Jones won the Tournament of Hearts without her as Shannon Birchard filled in at third. Lawes stepped back into that position for the 2018 World Championships and the team posted an undefeated record en route to the gold medal. Lawes had played through the Olympics and world championships with an inguinal hernia, which she had surgery to repair at the end of the season.
Lawes had a very successful junior career as a skip, leading her team to back-to-back junior national titles in 2008 and 2009 before winning bronze and silver at the respective world junior championships. That first national title was especially important to her as it came just four months after her father Keith passed away. He had been the biggest reason she fell in love with curling and she had considered quitting the sport after his death.
Kristen Campbell
Ice Hockey (Women)
Hometown: Brandon, Manitoba
Kristen Campbell first wore the maple leaf internationally at the 2015 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, winning the silver medal as she started and won one round robin game in the tournament. She next appeared for Canada as a member of the U22 development team in 2018, playing in a series against the United States. She got her first experience with the National Women’s Team the following year but had to wait until 2021 to be named to the roster for the IIHF Women’s World Championship. She was Canada’s third goaltender at the tournament as the team won the gold medal.
Campbell began playing collegiately at the University of North Dakota. She redshirted in 2015-16 and served as backup goaltender in 2016=17 before UND folded their women’s hockey program at the end of the season. Going through the recruitment process again, she was given the opportunity to be the starting goaltender at the University of Wisconsin, turning one of the worst things that ever happened to her into one of her greatest experiences.
Campbell starred for the Badgers over the next three years, winning the 2019 NCAA Championship and a pair of WCHA titles (2018, 2020). She was a two-time Second Team All-American and All-WCHA First Team selection (2018, 2019). In her first year at Wisconsin, she was named WCHA Goaltender of the Year and a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award given to the top collegiate female hockey player as she led the NCAA in goals against average (1.19) and shutouts (12). As a junior in 2019 she again led the nation in GAA (1.03) and shutouts (11) while also earning the most wins (35). She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship Game during the Badgers’ NCAA title win. Campbell even served as an alternate captain her senior season.
Following graduation, Campbell joined the PWHPA and skated with the Calgary-based team for the 2021 Dream Gap Tour.
Tyson Langelaar
Long Track Speed Skating
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Tyson Langelaar had a highly successful junior career, winning multiple medals at the World Junior Championships. In his first appearance in 2016, he won a silver medal in the team pursuit. Shortly thereafter, he fractured his ankle, but recovered for the following season. After missing just one podium in five races at the Canadian Junior Championships, he won the allround bronze medal at the 2017 World Junior Championships where he also won bronze in the 1000m and 1500m as well as a silver in the team sprint. He moved up to the allround silver medal at the 2018 World Juniors.
Langelaar started the 2018-19 season by winning the neo-senior 1000m and 1500m, as well as a silver in the 3000m, at an ISU Junior World Cup in Poland. He competed in his first senior ISU World Cup events in February 2019 and was an alternate for the 2019 World Single Distances Championships.
He joined the World Cup team full time in 2019-20. At the World Cup Final in Heerenveen in March 2020, Langelaar finished fourth in the 1500m to help him finish the season ranked sixth overall in the distance. He had won his first World Cup medal, a bronze, in December 2019 as a member of the team pursuit in Nagano.
Langelaar competed at his first World Single Distances Championships in 2020, finishing fourth with the team pursuit and ninth in the 1500m. He also competed at the World Allround Championships for the first time, finishing second in the 500m and 13th overall.
After not competing in the bubble in Heerenveen in January and February 2021, Langelaar returned to international competition in the fall of 2021 after setting personal bests in the 500m and 1000m at the Canadian Long Track Championships.
