From Windsor to Rio

It has been nearly two months since the Rio Olympics closed and one local Olympian is still living in the moment.

Belle River native Noelle Montcalm earned her spot on the Canadian athletics team that went to Rio de Janeiro in July of this year. One month before the Olympics in Rio she won the Canadian trials with a time of 55.83 seconds in the 400 metre hurdles. She made her Olympic debut in the hurdles along with the 4×400 metre relay.

Prior to being on the national team, Montcalm spent six years at the University of Windsor, graduating in 2012 with Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. During this time she earned 16 Canadian Interuniversity Sport medals and was named the Ontario University Athletics most outstanding performer four straight years.

Montcalm participated in Rio with several other athletes tied to Windsor including Brandon McBride, Miah-Marie Langlois, Kylie Masse and fellow Lancer track graduate Melissa Bishop. Bishop and Montcalm were part of the Lancers track team, led by head coach Dennis Fairall.

Montcalm felt Windsor was the only place for her when deciding her path for post secondary and track. Lancers hurdle coach Don Garrod worked with her out of high school along with Fairall. Garrod is now her personal coach. Fairall says he believes that having both Bishop and Montcalm stay in Windsor to train benefited them. Both runners earned fourth place finishes.

“Hopefully it (having Montcalm and Bishop here) will put Windsor on the international map. I believe that the facilities are first rate with the indoor track facility only 10 metres from the outdoor facility,” said Fairall.

In Rio, Montcalm was part of the 4×400 metre hurdles team which recorded Canada’s best finish in the event in 32 years and placed fourth, 55 milliseconds off the podium. She would also go on to finish 18th in the 400 metre hurdles. Montcalm said she is grateful for the once in a lifetime opportunity.

“It is an experience I will never forget,” said Montcalm. “Wearing the maple leaf brings such pride knowing I get to represent a whole nation. Representing Windsor was amazing. I would continually receive messages of support and some from people whom I didn’t know, but whom were proud and supportive of what I had already accomplished by making the Olympic team.”

Montcalm said she became interested in track because of the individual aspect of it, as she only affects her own results.

Since returning to Windsor she has been contacted for speaking engagements and hopes to inspire children to dream big, set goals and work hard to achieve them. Montcalm hopes to inspire young girls to remain in sports past school age.

She has plans to keep training. With 2017 being a World Championship year, she plans on taking things one step at a time.