Alumni

On July 17, 1976, the first female flag bearer at the opening ceremonies, a joint cauldron lighting and a royal visit from Queen Elizabeth II kicked off the first Olympic Summer Games hosted in Canada.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2cmiTlLs1w   Fifty years ago, in Montreal, sport legends graced the international stage, breaking records and glass ceilings. Gymnast Nadia Comăneci scored the first perfect 10, Princess Anne competed in the equestrian event – and the first women’s events in basketball, rowing and team handball were introduced. The biggest team in Canadian Olympic history – made up of 416 athletes – competed for the country. Among them were 15 Western students and alumni.     Professor emeritus and founding director of Western’s International Centre for Olympic Studies (ICOS), Bob Barney remembers many of those athletes fondly half a century later.

“To have so many athletes who studied and trained here is a testament to what Western means to the Olympics, and what they mean to Western. We’ve always had a strong connection to the Games.” – Bob Barney, professor emeritus and founding director of Western’s International Centre for Olympic Studies.

Barney said Western students and alumni have been involved in every Olympic Games since the 1930s. He credits John Howard Crocker with pioneering this legacy.   In 1908, Crocker managed the very first Canadian Olympic team. He went on to be the honorary manager of the team from 1912 to 1956. Between managing teams, Crocker joined Western as director of physical education in 1930. Western’s Faculty of Physical Education was the first of its kind, eventually becoming the School of Kinesiology. Crocker’s mentorship gave rise to various Olympic athletes. He served at Western until 1949, after he saw through the construction of Thames Hall. “Crocker is fundamental,” Barney said. “He laid the groundwork.” In 1972, Barney picked up the momentum Crocker established, becoming director of athletics in the Faculty of Physical Education, where he applied a sociocultural lens to physical education. By 1989, he had established the renowned ICOS and the first scholarly Olympic journal, Olympika. The 1976 Games were the first Barney watched in person, an experience he described as, “magical.” He said two things struck him about the 1976 Games: security measures skyrocketing after the 1972 Munich Massacre – highlighting the Olympics as a political forum – and an “explosion” in women’s sports that brought forth more female athletes than ever. “I know many women who started watching the Olympic Games to watch the women athletes, especially gymnasts and swimmers in 1976. It just captivated young women watching, because now, the Games were no longer a men’s event; they were becoming a family event,” Barney said.  

A new era for women’s sports

Among those athletes was Monika Seymour (née Draeger). At the time, Seymour was entering her third year in physical education at Western. Originally a track and field athlete, Seymour fell into rowing during orientation week when a friend introduced it to her. She learned to row from James Walker, a recent Western graduate who had just returned from the Munich Olympics. After only two days, Seymour was hooked. “I loved being outside, in the water, all of it,” she said. “I didn’t even go back to track; I was in love with rowing.” After Seymour’s first rowing season in 1972, the Olympic committee announced women’s rowing would take place for the first time at the 1976 Games. In preparation, Western’s men’s rowing coach, Bob Marlowe, suggested Seymour begin training. She then stayed at Western during the summer of 1974 to train under Kris Korzeniowski – a well-known European coach who had recently relocated to Canada. In just two years, Seymour went from novice to national champion, making history in the process. In 1974, she was part of the first Canadian women’s team to attend the World Rowing Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland, where her team placed ninth. She then went on to compete at the 1975 world championships in Nottingham, Great Britain. Seymour and fellow Western graduate, Becky Ostrom (née Stevenson) were the team to beat in Canada ahead of the Olympic year. “The rowing landscape was nothing like it is today. I don’t know how we did it, but we were just really naïve, focused and lucky to have Kris coaching us,” said Seymour. As a lifelong sports fan, Seymour arrived in Montreal eager to see some of her athletic heroes in person. After years of watching women’s gymnastics on television, she was thrilled to exchange greetings with Soviet gold medalist Olga Korbut in the Olympic Village. But it was stepping into Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremonies that left the greatest impression.

“It doesn’t matter which country you’re from. The athletes walk into that stadium waving their flag and there’s nothing in your life that will ever top that. You’re an Olympian and nobody can ever take that away from you.” – Olympic rower Monika Seymour, BA’77

Unlike today, Seymour said, there was less media coverage of the Games, so there weren’t the same grand expectations from fans. “There was no pressure on us except the pressure within our group that we were going to do well and prove ourselves,” she said. “As young women, we felt empowered that we could do whatever we wanted to do. Whether at school or at the Games, we weren’t going to let anything stop us.” In 1976, the Status of Women Canada – now Women and Gender Equality Canada – became a federal government agency dedicated to advancing gender equality. It would be several years before equal rights and protections against gender-based discrimination were enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Seymour’s cohort competed at the Olympics before those protections even existed, making them true trailblazers in women’s sport. Despite not making the podium, Seymour made history as a woman athlete. Still, after the Games, she was ready to return to school and complete her degree. Her love of education extended throughout her career as a librarian and brought her back to Western on various occasions. In 2016, Seymour was inducted into the Western’s Rowing Wall of Excellence for her contributions to women’s rowing. There, she addressed a new generation of women rowers. Though women’s sports have undergone immense change, Seymour has one piece of advice that has remained the same since her competition days:

“Your four years at university are going to be the best years of your life, so make the most of it.” – Olympic rower Monika Seymour, BA‘77

 

More than the matches

For Olympic wrestler Brian Renken, the most enduring memories from Montreal aren’t necessarily the matches themselves. Renken arrived at the 1976 Games as a 21-year-old Mustangs wrestling standout from the faculty of physical education. Originally a gymnast, Renken competed in both freestyle and greco-roman wrestling. He was the only Canadian wrestler to compete in both disciplines at the Games. Looking back, Renken remembers being overwhelmed by the scale of the Olympics. “To put it bluntly, I think I was awestruck,” he said. “It was beyond belief.” Fifty years later, Renken remembers less about his individual performance and more about the people who shared the experience with him. He and many of his former teammates still gather to reminisce, including fellow Western graduate and Olympic wrestler, Michael Barry. In May, members of Canada’s 1976 wrestling team reunited in Montreal to mark the anniversary of the Games.

“The friendships I made at Western have proven to be lifelong. I can’t replace that.” – Olympic wrestler Brian Renken, BA’78

Like many Olympic athletes, Renken carried lessons from his sporting career into the next chapter of his life. After graduating from Western in 1978, he and Barry decided to take the law school admissions test on a whim. Both went on to earn law degrees and successfully practice law. He was inducted into the “W” Club – the Western Mustangs Sports Hall of Fame – in 2001. Renken credits athletics with teaching him the necessary tools to succeed both in sport and in the courtroom. “You can’t be an elite athlete without being disciplined and organized,” he said. “I learned a lot of that at Western.” Renken says the biggest change he’s seen in the Olympics over time is the impact of the internet and growing media coverage. Greater visibility has not only made athletes more recognizable to the public but has also helped generate financial support for elite sport. “These are household names now that you see out there,” Renken said. Increased public attention, he added, has made it easier for athletes to secure the resources needed to train and compete at the highest level.  

The cost of a dream

The Montreal Olympics are remembered as much for their athletic achievements as for their financial legacy. Construction delays and cost overruns left the city with a $1.6 billion debt that took decades to repay, prompting questions about whether hosting the Games is worth the enormous investment. That debate feels particularly relevant with the costs of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026, as Toronto and Vancouver taxpayers paid $380 million and $578 million respectively. Despite the costs and controversies that continue to surround the Games, Barney believes the Olympics still fulfill a unique purpose. “They bring people together in a way that almost nothing else can,” he said. While politics, security concerns and commercial interests have grown dramatically since 1976, the appeal of athletes from around the world gathering to test themselves against the very best remains the same. For Barney, the only thing that outshines the Olympic promise of athletic competition is the opportunity the Games provide to connect with others.

“When I watch the Olympics, I see we’re pretty much all alike. We have the same tendencies, same concerns for children and ancestors. Anything that enhances being together is a good means of eventually solving global problems. It’s negotiation over confrontation.” – Bob Barney, professor emeritus and founding director of Western’s International Centre for Olympic Studies

Renken sees value in that shared experience as well. He said the Olympics gave him the chance to learn from athletes he otherwise never would have met and exposed him to a world far larger than his own. Fifty years later, the achievements of Western’s Olympians continue to resonate. For Seymour, who still watches every Olympic opening ceremony live, the Games represented something equally important: possibility. “I’m really excited that women today have the potential to make careers out of sports,” she said. “I’d like to think we had a hand in that.”   Learn more about how Western is preparing future leaders and global citizens