POTSDAM, NEW YORK – A FISU Games veteran and medal hopeful will carry the Canadian flag into Herb Brooks Arena at the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games Opening Ceremony on Thursday.
Inside Thatcher Hall at SUNY Potsdam, U SPORTS announced on Wednesday that Nipissing Lakers cross-country skier Alex Maycock and Montreal Carabins alpine ski racer Caroline Beauchamp will be Canada’s flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony on Thursday night at the historic Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid.
“It’s a huge honour and a privilege to carry the flag for Canada, not only for me but also for Nipissing University and for North Bay,” Maycock said in a press release “Having the experience of these Games in 2019, it was really eye-opening to realize the scale and the magnitude of this event.”
Maycock, 23, competed for Team Canada at the Kransoyarsk 2019 Games, finishing 26th in the men’s sprint final. He was selected for the Lucerne 2021 Games and was already in Switzerland when the Games were called off due to COVID-19 just nine days before they were set to start.
“I was ready for the [Lucerne 2021] Games and to test myself, and I had to fly back when they were cancelled,” he told 49 Sports. “I was excited to see a decade and a half of hard work in Canada pay off at these Games; I felt as fit as I ever have, which was gut-wrenching.”
Joining Maycock will be Montreal Carabins ski captain Caroline Beauchamp, 22, who is coming off two podium performances in FIS-level giant slalom at Mont-Tremblant. She’s won 19 FIS level medals throughout her career while reaching a best finish of 9th in a Nor-Am Cup parallel, the highest level she’s raced at.
A medical student at the University of Montreal, the Carabins student-athlete is among those with the most academic rigour at the Lake Placid 2023 Games while also making time to maintain a 3.5 GPA and volunteer at hospitals and clinics around Montreal.
“I feel very honoured and privileged,” Beauchamp said. “It is a great pleasure for me to lead the delegation. This nomination embodies all the efforts I have put into skiing over the years. I hope to represent my country and other Canadian athletes well.
“She’s a good person, always smiling, she’s a good leader,” said former Montreal Carabins head coach and Canadian team coach in Lake Placid, Michel Huot. “To appear on the academic honour roll, it takes a very organized person. I am very proud of her.”
The two will lead Canada’s 120 athletes into Herb Brooks Arena at the 30th FISU Winter Games on Thursday Jan 12, at 7:00 pm ET, streaming live on TSN’s website and app.