Well, I don't necessarily care about being the best in the world. I wanna be the best possible version of myself. The Olympic gold medal race, the women's date Tony Tokyo 2020. Stay in my lane, keep my head in, ultimately trust myself and believe in myself and my teammates. Canada who are gonna win their 1st gold in the women's day since 1992. Go for it. Just hold nothing back. I just had so much belief.
Today in Chatter that matters, we're joined by an Olympic gold medalist whose journey is as inspiring as her stroke is powerful. Avalon Westonace has not only conquered the waters, but the ways that changed in her life. She started off as a competitive cross country skier and then moved into demanding waters of rowing. Her story is about
transformation, tenacity, and the enduring power of dreams. That journalist called her a self proclaimed rebellious teenager, but what everybody will learn from this show is what goes inside the mind of someone who dreams and goes after being the best in the world, who overcomes their own mental well-being, ADHD, anxiety, health issues like mono, chronic bronchitis. And what she's learned about herself are lessons that are so important for everybody out there. Finish the race. Understand your
why. Even if you're not motivated, even if it's 1 of the toughest days, just do something. There's so much that's part of this incredible lady as she sets her sights on Paris 2024. That is Chatter that matters with Tony Chapman Avalon Wasteneys, welcome to Chatter That Matters. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to get into this. So what's in the water in Campbell River, British Columbia that it seems like there's so many extraordinary athletes that
do so many extraordinary things? Well, yeah. I will say that Campbell River definitely has, created a lot of really awesome athletes over the years. But for me personally I was actually born in Toronto and, when I was 5 my family moved up to Vancouver Island into the middle of nowhere. Strathcona Park Lodge is where I was raised. It's about 45 Matters outside of Campbell River. And, Strathcona Park Lodge is an outdoor education resort that is run by my aunt and my uncle.
And so my family lived just off property, and it was a very remote community, but we had, like, a little schoolhouse for about 10 different kids of all different ages. And, I just grew up in that very isolated environment until grade 9 when I started going to middle school and high school in Campbell River. How hard was that to make the transition? And I'm gonna be disparaging, but it's almost like a commune. You're all together as a
small group. You know, everybody's sort of living, annoying each other's business, and then you have to go off to a high school. Was that tough on you? That was really tough. I think I was just very fortunate that, 1 of my cousins who I was very close with, she is the same age as me. And so I was able to go to school with her, and she was just like my buddy, and my best friend, throughout, that that dramatic change in my in my life. Inside your
family, there's a lot of athletic pedigree. Your Matters, Heather Clark, competed in 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Mhmm. Your aunt Christine Clark in the 1984 Summer Olympics in 8 boats. So was that just part of your family, the sense of being outdoors, getting off the beaten path? Totally. Yeah. I come from a family of high performance athletes. My dad was a rower, actually. He never went to the Olympic level,
but he was certainly really good. On my dad's side, my uncle Steven was a really competitive, canoe kayak athlete. My uncle Jeffrey was a passenger skier, and my aunt Claire was a passenger skier. So there was just, like, a lot of high performing athletes, all throughout my family. And so it was just something that was natural for me to, gravitate towards. I was reading an article on you and this journalist, you know, proclaimed you're a rebellious
teenager. How dare you choose competitive cross country skiing as a sport over rowing? But understand though that cross country skiing was a big part of your family's activities in the Chatter, and maybe the first time to be declared your dad actually likes it more than rowing. Yes. I think you people kind of think imagine maybe Three was a lot of pressure to row, but rowing was just, like, actually never really spoken about in my family. I
just never remember my mom putting any pressure on it. It was just kind of, like, off handedly talked about. But skiing was, like, the big family sport because it was something we could all do together. And my dad just loves being in the outdoors. He's a very active man to this day. And so he really pushed all of us to, get into cross country skiing. And I, started it when I was 5 and then quickly became, very ingrained in that community and, was a competitive cross entry skier until I
graduated high school. You cite, I mean, obviously there's an incredible DNA within your family that roars, but you also put a lot of credit towards, your coach at the time, Dave Addison, and talking about what he did to make you believe. What did he say to you that maybe we should all be reminded of in terms of encouraging people to go after their dreams? Yeah. So Dave Madison, he was 1 of the the first people I think that really ever made
me, like, truly, truly believe in myself. He was a really tough guy full of, you know, jokes and, you know, always teasing us, but he Takeaways, like, flip a switch. And suddenly, he was just so caring, inspiring, and just motivational. And, when I joined the junior race team, he was the head coach. And listening to him talk about racing, it just gave me chills throughout my body and made me want to find that success that he was just,
like, so reverently talking about. Key was a huge inspiration to so many local skiers in that community, and was just always willing to, like, help athletes and help other coaches. And he, I'd say, really built the program up and, put this small club on the map. So, yeah, he was that guy, I think, that made me, for the first time, realize that, like, you know, I I might just Key, like, a random girl from Campbell River, but that didn't mean I couldn't do really incredible things. And,
he was, yeah, 1 of those people that just made me go, like, wow. Maybe I actually I could do this. A girl from nowhere gets named that National Talent Squad. And that age 16, did you have aspirations that you could become 1 of the best, if not the best in the world in competitive cross country skiing? Yeah. I mean, I always had this dream of competing at the Olympics or just, like, being the best at
something. But I at the same time looking back, I don't think I necessarily believed it was anything more than a dream you know I I never really was sure how I would put that that dream and and put into actuality And he was Dave was kind of that person who was helping me get the stepping
stones I needed to, achieve those dreams. 1 thing that you're only starting to really talk about, and I think it's important to share, and and maybe it was part of your upbringing and the changing circumstances, suddenly going to a high school, you know, instead of a small schoolhouse with 10 people in 1 room, is anxiety ADHD? And how did you cope with that going on, the pressures of competing at a competitive, you know, at a national level, and everything that's going on inside a body
that's kind of leaving childhood and becoming a young adult. Yeah. I had undiagnosed ADHD during my childhood and teenage years. And with it came very severe anxiety that honestly was very debilitating at times. I obviously still have ADHD. I still have anxiety. But I think sports kind of provided this opportunity for me to essentially undergo exposure therapy. It provided opportunities to face my very extreme anxieties with, Tony serious repercussions beyond maybe, a bruised ego.
And it really helped me learn to make my anxiety more fun. It made me go into these situations where I was just, like, felt completely ill with anxiety. But then I would I would push into that and I would race or I would train and I would feel myself, get adrenaline from that essentially and perform because of that anxiety and because of that, yeah, desire to do really well. I think, actually, I realized maybe in my final year of skiing, I had just
been really overcome with anxiety. I was really struggling to handle it during racing. And I actually started to kind of try to numb that anxiety and those nerves as a coping mechanism. And that just actually led me to not caring as much, which is not what you want. And then because of that, I think I stopped performing as well. I always try to use sport as an opportunity to remind myself that my anxiety, my
nerves, that just means I really care. And so I'm really grateful for the fact that sport has pushed me to face those anxieties over the years. How did you cope with the passing of Dave Addison? I mean, he meant so much to you, the first person outside your family that really believed you could be the best of the best. He certainly would have been very understanding or at least very aware of what you were going through in terms of your mental well-being. What impact did suddenly
losing him have on you? Losing Dave, in 2014 when I was in grade 11 was honestly really devastating, for myself and for the entire South Carolina Nordic ski community. Like I said, he was just this beacon of belief and, it was really, really important to everyone. And I think that that, was definitely part of the reason why I ended up retiring from skiing because, I had this person who I thought was gonna, you know, help me go all the way. And then
suddenly, I felt very alone. Do you ever feel he's with you now in the sense of some of the lessons he taught or how he might have helped you cope in different situations? I mean, do you carry that forward no matter what sport you're in or not even in sports but just in life in general? Yeah. Totally. Yeah. I think everyone who has been coached by him will remember the little day that he would say, to try to inspire us. Some of them were just really
hilarious and not applicable. But 1 of the things that really stuck with me was that he would always tell us that we had to, no matter what, always finish the race and to never, ever, ever give up. And those just that those 2 things really, helped me to, like, just instill that self belief over time, and focus on doing the best I could versus focusing necessarily on, how the results. You know, I've I've done a lot of shows in mental
well-being. I have to believe, though, that Daveism, if no matter what finished the race, would have also contributed to the anxieties leading into a race. I think sometimes when you're someone who has anxiety, you can get really focused on the result. Like, what if how do I perform? What if I look like a fool? What if I don't hit the podium I want? But the 1 thing you can always control, unless something really bad happens, like you break all your Chapman, no matter how slow
you go, you can always control the fact that you can finish the race. It's such a wonderful piece of advice for anybody in any task that you're doing to just finish the race because there's so much pride that comes with the sense that you started off in a journey and you finished it. So you tease the fact that this is where you retired from competitive skiing. You go off to the University of Victoria and you choose oars over
poles. Did your mom and aunt have any influence on that or was that just decided that that would be the next sport that you're gonna, focus on? Yeah. A little bit of both. I think my parents saw that I'd begun to lost my passion in grade 12. And I think they were concerned that I was gonna end up just going through the motions. And so my mom suggested rowing to Key. And I was very, very against it, actually. I I was just really offended that she suggested it because in my mind, I was
like, you don't believe that I can make it in skiing? But I think in actuality, she just saw that, you know, I was actually probably done. And, I think the other unfortunate side of it was that, sport in general is extremely expensive, and cross country skiing is very, very expensive. And my parents sacrificed a lot in order for me and my siblings to
competitively cross entry ski. And suddenly, there I was in grade 11 and grade 12 and prepared to, go off to university or go off to a national training center and realizing that I didn't have any of the funds to support myself in that sport. And so my parents were kind of like, you know, we can't support you in this anymore financially. So if you want to go to the Olympics, you're going to have to figure out a different
way. But it really wasn't until my dad, I think, was the 1 that was like, are you prepared to spend years banging your head against the wall in pursuit of this Olympic dream through cross country skiing? That made me realize that, like, you know what? Yeah. Maybe I should switch things up and and try something new that can spark that passion again. What was it like when you first, you know, you took up rowing in university knowing that there's legacy with your family and not just
legacy, but Olympians within your family and such. Did you ever get in there and say, this is my identity or I'm kind of now that baton has been passed on to Key? Honestly, never felt any of that pressure, remarkably. I think my my parents have always, pressured me to be in sport, but they've never necessarily pressured me to perform based on external goals. They would honestly just be happy and proud if I was happy and having fun, and being active. And so, I never felt that kind of
pressure. I just was excited for an opportunity to be completely new at a sport, and just, start from the ground up and have all this opportunity for growth. And I think at the same time, my, I I just grew up surrounded by rowers. There are a lot of my family friends. And so it just felt kind of natural to be entering into that community. The growth that you experienced in that sport is, to me, extraordinary. And I I
think you know that RBC also sponsors my podcast. So I've gotten to really understand the RBC training ground, but 1 year after your first strokes in a rowing shell, if I have the timing right, you go to the 2017 RBC training ground, which is really identifying future talent that could potentially own the podium. And from what I understand and certainly have seen in the videos, you you win that competition. Yeah. I won the, BC regional event. I've also
been incredible. I mean, that because when I look at the videos of training ground, it's not like there's you're suddenly slotted in a lane. It seems like people are jumping, they're running, they're they're cardio. I mean, it's give me a sense of what happens within Training Ground. Yeah. So when you go to a training ground event, they have a lot of different, disciplines that they want you to compete in. So it could be like a 100 meter sprint. It could be a 6 second max watt, bike.
It could be an endurance bike where you're, like, going up in stages. Yeah. So it's just looking at all these different, markers for, physical prowess. And, it's really just an opportunity to either shine maybe in strength or endurance or be all around good at a bunch of different disciplines. And then there are a lot of different NSOs, so National Sport Organizations, who are present at these training grounds and, identifying people that they think could be good at their sport.
And there's been some incredible stories of people coming in saying, I I didn't even think that that was a potential sport for Key. And next thing you know, they're sort of being fast tracked in it. How did it feel? Like, I watched the smile on your face. I mean, it was an auditorium full of athletes, and your name is called. It must have been, did you have a sense you were gonna win that day, or was it were you just so happy to be among a
bunch of the elite athletes that it didn't matter? When I went to that event, I actually initially had no desire to go. Once again, it was my mom who pushed me to do it. And so I was just kind of there for the experience and for the opportunity to maybe get some additional funding because I was I was working 2 jobs. I was going to school and I was trying to competitively row. So I went to it with really no expectations, just a little bit of hope that maybe I could gain some more support.
And then I remember sitting among the crowd of athletes, and they're about to announce who had won. And I suddenly see the camera pan towards my face, And I just suddenly had this moment where I went, oh, no. This can't be real. And then they called my name, and I was just so so shocked. And I remember, like, stumbling down the bleacher stairs. And I was just so embarrassed because I, you know, I never really liked being in the spotlight. So I just I was embarrassed and really, really excited
and proud and had all those emotions kind of going through me. Myself our great honor, to call up Avalon Westies for Campbell, Wither, It just feels great. Like, I know it's a long road, but it's it's just that much closer. And I feel like I have a lot of people behind me
now, which is just so amazing. It's such a beautiful clip, and the smile on your face, and I'm a, father to daughters, and I could just imagine how many times your parents have looked at as well because that's just, you know your child is now moving into a different league and, she's gonna be just fine. And I thought that was wonderful. And then several months after the RBC
training ground, you start training with a national team. So, I mean, if I'm getting this right, I mean, this this isn't that long after you first stepped in and started working with the University of Victoria, and you make your international debut debut in the women's a plus at a senior World Cup. So, basically, once I got identified at the, training ground event, suddenly, it felt like everything just started speeding
up. Suddenly, there were these benchmarks that I was supposed to be hitting for rowing, and there are people checking in on my progress. And, suddenly, I was getting these opportunities to train with the Canadian national Canadian national team. And that was just completely shocking. Like, I I didn't know how to handle that. I was so excited, and I felt probably a lot of imposter syndrome, but I
was super excited. So in 2017, in October, shortly after doing the training ground event, I got to go with the national team to the head of the Charles, which is this really massive regatta in the States, in Boston. And I got to compete with the team. And so I trained with them for 2 weeks, and I competed with the team. And then I was like, Key. Great. See you guys later. And I went back to the University of Victoria. And then, several months later, the coach reached out to
me and goes, Why haven't you been at training? And I was just so shocked because I thought that was just, like, a once in a lifetime Chatter, and I probably wouldn't get that opportunity again. In reality, they were like, you are supposed to be here training with us. So then I pretty much transitioned over to the national team. And then that summer, I was, just hoping to try out for the u Three national that. But myself and 1 other u Three athlete, we both got named to the
national team as well for the senior national team. And so that summer, my very first World Cup regatta was, in Lucerne, Switzerland with the Canadian Women's 8, and we got, silver at World Cup 3. And then after that, about a few weeks later, I, went over to Poland, and I competed again in the women's 8, but the u Three category, and we won gold. So it was just, like, a very, very quick turnaround for me. And I I think up until that moment, I've had people asking me, like, do
you wanna go to the Olympics? Do you think you're gonna go to, like, the Tokyo Olympics? And I was just, like, probably not. Like, I'm not gonna accelerate through the sport that fast. But that moment made me realize, actually, maybe I could. And how's the anxiety and, like, how are you coping with all of this? Because, I mean, this is a fast track. Are you are you once again channeling this instead of at a disadvantage to an advantage, or is this something you have to deal
with every day? Yeah. I mean, yeah. I definitely had a lot of anxiety about it, especially our coach at the time. He was a very difficult coach, ended up being, you know, fired for abusive behavior. And so he definitely preyed on that kind of anxiety that I had, and I was just, like, a very eager young athlete. I would do whatever I was told, took advantage of every single opportunity I could. And I just really went into training with the idea that I had nothing to
lose. I only had every opportunity to gain. And I just tried to keep some of that excitement, about being able to train with these women who had so much so much experience and so much to offer me. So the 2020 Olympics is now on your horizon, but once again, there's a health issue. This time you come very sick with mononucleases. To me, anybody I've ever known that's had mono is bedridden. How did you manage to deal with that and still keep your sights set on, I wanna be
part of that Olympic team? Around that time, that was when COVID had really rocked the world, and the, the Tokyo Olympics had been postponed. And so it was really just interesting crazy time. But I was training on my own, in isolation, and I started to become very very tired, very fatigued. I couldn't get through my training sessions. I just was feeling really wretched and then ended up having some crazy, crazy symptoms, flu
symptoms. I was ended up being admitted to the hospital for severe dehydration, and was diagnosed with a very severe case of mononucleosis. And I remember just feeling so horrible about that because, at this point, the Olympics had been postponed, but I was still like, we are still in the Olympic year if they go ahead in 2021. And, so I was I was very terrified. I wasn't sure how I was gonna handle it. That doctors were telling me, you know, I was probably gonna be
outside of training for the next 4 months. And at that point, I was, like, completely bedridden. I would get up to get a glass of water, and I would have to take a nap, like, halfway through in the living room because I just, like, couldn't go all the way from my bedroom to the kitchen. It was really terrifying to think of the fact that I was gonna have to get myself back into shape in a pretty short time, time period in order to be ready for the Olympics.
Held them for a long time there. The big boats, the eights. This is the Olympic gold medal race, the women's 8 that Tokyo 2020 So let's go to the gold medal performance in Tokyo. Avalon, I understand that every seat is important, but the seat you're sitting is the stroke seat. Tell us a little bit about what is the responsibility of the person that's really there to set set the tone for the rest. So I would describe the stroke seat as,
basically, like that crown of a court. I'm gonna put this in a very fictional fantasy way of describing it. They're like the crown and so they're leading this battle this army to battle essentially. They're the person that everyone looks to as the head of the charge They're setting the rhythm. They're setting the pace, but behind them, they have an army What a stop Key Canada. Of, individuals who are fueling that rhythm. Every seat is equally important, and every seat adds something
really special to the crew and very unique. But Stroke Seat is the 1 that's kind of leading that charge. And why you? I mean, you studied psychology in university, did a minor in anthropology. Would was it something you learned there? Was it something you learned with Dave when you're cross country skiing? Is it how you dealt with anxiety? I mean, what do you feel you had the attributes beyond just the athletic prowess for them to to sort of put that or
in your that? Well, I think I was just very consistent, and I I think I still am. That's 1 of my attributes that I, am quite good at in rowing. It's I can be very consistent with my rhythm. So I think I'm relatively easy to follow in that regard. And then I think I'm just also very tenacious. Once I'm in a, race environment, I I just I wanna win. I'll do whatever it takes to get there. And so you want someone who will, drive the crew to do whatever
they can to win. You want that kind of person in stroke seat. Do you think any of your ADHD plays to your advantage in that when you're sort of getting hyper focused on not just the outcome, but the rhythm? Yeah. Totally. I I love talking about
ADHD in sport in this way. I think, there are a lot of athletes that have ADHD because, being physically active through sport is a great way for us to just hyperfocus in and take advantage of that ability to hyperfocus and just be totally, totally ingrained in the rhythm or whatever sport we're doing. And so I I totally think that ADHD, it can be a superpower when you're, in a sport like rowing. Tokyo Olympics have been delayed. You're going into it. I would say that you were thought of
as the underdog. So take us to everything that goes mentally into setting yourself up to prove everybody else wrong. So in the year leading up to the Olympics, obviously, there hadn't been any opportunity to do any international racing due to COVID. So we were just training on our own. We were using the men's sport, the Canadian men's sport to train against, and to push ourselves with. But we had no competitors that we could directly see or match our speed with and see how we were doing
internationally. So we really had to just create this sense of, sense of belief within the crew. We, made this commitment to 1 another that we were going to, redefine excellence. So we were going to perform no matter what. And performance didn't necessarily have to be a gold medal, but we that to walk away feeling like we had contributed to the sport of rowing, and we had made it better in some way. So we went into this just kind of this attitude that we were gonna do
the absolute best we could. We wanted to win gold. We wanted to prove to the world that we were the best there was. That we also were just trying to, you know, really be focused on ourselves and focus on what we could do as a team. Going into the regatta, we placed, second in the first 2 races that we did. And so going into the final, yes, we were, you know, medal contenders, but I don't think anyone thought we
were necessarily going to win gold. But that's where it was just complete trust in 1 another, complete and utter grit, and just desire to prove to the world that we were the best ones there. It's Canada who are gonna win their 1st gold in the women's day since 1992 ahead of the Kiwis. She's out of her seat, the Canadian cops. Kirsten Kitsa, hug Adeline Watts. She's a 23 year old. And did you know the moment the race started that this was
your day? Or a lot of times people go, I would just you know, they talk about being in the Tony, or Michael Jordan on on his documentary just talks about walking on the cart knowing that even if he wasn't trash talked, he would create a competitor to be his best at. I mean, take us through, like, do you feel that way, or is that more just Hollywood and how we like to glamorize sports? No. I I when I was, when it was the day of the final, like, I woke up and I was just, like,
we're gonna do this. Like, I truly believe that we could win the race. I guess I wasn't necessarily thinking about the fact that it'd be winning the Olympics, but I absolutely was so determined that we could win the race. I remember sitting with a few of my teammates before the race, and we were just laughing our heads off. We were just having, like, a really honestly good time. And I think that is part of the reason why we did so well is we weren't
nervous because we were afraid we were gonna lose something. We are nervous because we were just so excited to it to do it. I think those Hollywood movies have something that are true, which is that you can wake up on that day, and and it can be that belief that really gets you through it. To get them. Now's the time. So many people watching back in Canada as Avalon gives a medal to Kirsten Kidd. And now we hear the Canadian National Anthem.
The greatest film director in Hollywood couldn't possibly shoot a picture so genuine about you biting down on that gold medal. To me, it was everything coming together. What does it feel like to get a gold medal put over your in in that ribbon placed over your neck? I think the true moment that really showed how we all felt
was when we crossed the finish line. I kind of insinuated earlier that, yeah, we thought we could win the race, but I hadn't really thought about the fact that I would be winning a gold medal. So I was absolutely determined to do whatever it took to win the race. But when we crossed the finish line, that's when I was just hit with, like, complete shock. I was
sobbing. I was laughing. I was just so unbelievably, overwhelmed with emotions because that's when it hit us that not only had we won the race, we were setting out to win, but we had become Olympic Chapman. It was probably the most electric feeling I've ever experienced in my life. Butting down that medal I was just thinking about all those people that had supported
me. I was thinking about my mum and how she had been such a formidable and incredible athlete but had maybe experienced, a lot of setbacks and hadn't been given as much opportunity to perform during her time. And so I was thinking about how this wasn't just success for me and my teammates. It was success for all the people that had really supported us and believed in us all the way. When we return, Avalon and I discuss her excitement for the upcoming Paris
Olympics and her message for future athletes. Plus, I'll be joined by Sam Effa and what he has to say about winning. Well, those 2 are words that matter. But Mitchell hold on. She dies. It's a girl for Kelsey Mitchell of Canada. RBC Training Ground identifies raw talent and then works to help athletes reach the top. At an RBC training ground event, cycling Canada took notice of the power of Kelly Mitchell's legs. Placed on a watt
bike, it's 6 seconds of furious pedaling. She exceeded the national standard, and she hadn't owned a bike since she was 12. Today, Kelsey Mitchell is a gold medalist. What is it with women's princess in Canada? Wow. Her success and yours matter to RBC. The new season does. It's Canada who are gonna win their 1st gold in the women's day since 1992 ahead of the Kiwis. She's out of her seat, the Canadian Cox.
Kirsten Kitsa hug Adlamas. She's a 23 year old. I just don't think it's fully hit us, and we're just kind of rolling off the punches still and processing it. But every time I watch that that video, I just get the chills, kinda feel like crying a little bit because it's just really special. You're listening to Chatter that matters with Tony Chapman presented by RBC. My guest today is Canadian Olympic gold medalist and RBC training ground alumni, Avalon Weston A's.
So let's talk about Paris 2024. You've got the gold medal. You're no longer the underdog. How do you motivate yourself? What changes in your mindset? Because now when you walk through that village, they see you as a gold medalist. We've had other opportunities to be the top dog over these past few years, And, unfortunately, we haven't been. You know, we've we've performed, but not
up to that gold medal standard. And so I think we're actually going into this Olympic Games once again, the underdog, and which is kind of ironic. But it's also, I think, how myself and how a lot of my teammates do like to compete. It is a lot of fun to be the underdog. It's fun to have people count you out and then be like, nope. I'm gonna prove you wrong. So I think we're kind of actually going in in a similar position. We had a few years of not super consistent training.
I was dealing with a lot of health issues over these past few years, that, yeah, like I said, really impacted our consistency in training. I think now going into this Olympics, though, we're looking really strong. We got a new coach who is just absolutely remarkable and does a really, really good job of bringing this team together and identifying our strengths, while making sure that we
are addressing what our weaknesses are as well. So I I think we're going in as underdogs, but I'm I'm feeling really confident in our crew. How is your health? Because you talked about you're dealing with health issues in the past. Are you are you feeling you're at a at a place where you can deliver your best, or are you still is it your curse in life to become the best regardless of the health issues that you face? Yeah. I've been dealing with a lot of on and off chronic, sicknesses over
these past few years since Tokyo. I actually had a relapse of mono, right before, like, literally Three day before we got on the plane for the 2022 World Championships. So I competed through that world championships, while managing the symptoms of mono. So, I've had huge hits on the consistency in my training. I've been taking in and out of training a lot, and I gotta say that really, really does something to your confidence.
Thankfully, I do just have this weird sense of self belief that kind of acts as a foundation, and really helps me weather those storms when my confidence is being brought down. I think that was kind of instilled in me, as I mentioned earlier, through my coach, Dave. I also was recently reflecting on that and thought, now that I think about it, I used to read, and I still read a lot of fantasy novels. And that's always where the hero, they face
all these challenges along the way. Right? But at the end of the day, they always persevere and they always, find success. And so I think that's maybe given me a little bit of naive self belief over the years, but I'm gonna hold on to it because, I think there's something to be said for being resilient. I wanna ask you a question. Do you think Canadians take their Olympians for granted? And
my reference is a 2023 article in Rowing Canada. Very gracious in thanking, the country, RBC Training Ground, all the people who supported you, but I also sensed it's almost like it was a call out to Canada to say that the people that devote so much time and energy to represent but I don't think that all Canadians realize how unglamorous sport can be. I think you get this idea of professional athletes who have these massive sponsorship deals, who are earning a
ton of money doing their sport. They have, like, private chefs, feeding them. But in reality, most Canadian athletes, like, we're living technically below the poverty line in terms of, the kind of funding that we get. Only within the last second couple of days, Sport Canada announced that they're gonna be, raising the carding the monthly carding that we get to match inflation rate. So Canadian athletes have been struggling financially for a long
time. Sport is incredible, and, it can unite people. It can inspire people. It's just some of the most wonderful things that ever happened to Key, but it also takes a lot of a person and, means that it's very difficult or it can be very difficult for them to plan for a future, just because of the fact that they're not being paid enough to do the sport that they do full time every
single day. So I think just having a little bit more of that awareness, maybe, maybe you know an athlete, and you can help them out by giving them some meals a few time. Or maybe you have an athlete renting from you and you can give them a break on, rent. But I think just having a little bit more awareness that most of us are not living very glamorously. You've taken on this role of ambassadorship for RBC Training Ground, and I've been watching your little the
short clips you do on Instagram and such. What's the message that you hope you can leave the young Avalons out there to keep going regardless of setbacks, regardless of the cards you're dealt, regardless of the circumstances that the journey is not always easy, but it's worth it. First thing that I found really helpful is figuring out is what is your why? Why are you in sport? What are you getting out of
it? What drives you? So figure out your why. And then the second thing is, something I've really struggled with and I still struggle with is this desire for perfectionism. But I think it's important to wrap your mind around the fact that a little
is better than nothing. To put this into context, there were times where, I would try to make this perfect workout plan, this perfect plan for how I was gonna achieve my dreams, but I'd become so paralyzed with trying to figure out how I was gonna navigate that that I would end up doing nothing, which does not help you. So I'd say that just focus on doing a little more than doing something perfect. 10 minutes of work is
better than no minutes of work. So focus on just doing little Tony little steps at a time rather than trying to create this perfect scenario or this perfect plan. Another thing that I think is important to know is that, you know, motivation that that really comes and goes. There are gonna be times when you feel super unmotivated, and confidence comes and goes. There's gonna be times when you're feeling like, man, I'm just super bad at this
today. So I'd say instead focus on building discipline and routine so you don't have to focus on motivation to do the daily things. And then focus on building just that sense of internal self belief that can act as that foundation for your confidence. Avalon, what is your why? My why is that I really wanna know what's out there and what's possible for me. I just wanna I don't necessarily care about being the best in the world. I wanna be the best possible version of
myself. And so I take this adversity and all these opportunities of challenge as opportunities for growth. And they just add to my my main character, fantasy fictional story. You know, Avalon, I always end my show with my Three takeaways. And and I had them nailed until your last wonderful, and there's no longer Dave isms, they're now Avalon isms that are gonna call. But I I mean, the first 1 was is just really the lessons that you that Dave brought you, which is the concept to finish the
race. And I think that's a universal lesson. And I think a lot of times nowadays, it's easy to not finish the race often because your world's inside the cloud or on a keyboard or there's no physicality involved with it, so it's sometimes easy to check out. And I think if we all applied that mentality of finish what you start, I think we'd all end the day with a greater sense of passion and purpose. The second 1 is just the
hero's journey. What you talk about is a fantasy novel, but it's the person that goes on a quest and has to overcome obstacles and they meet their Yodas and mentors along the way and they succeed with their dream but come back a very different and changed person. You're living that hero's journey and your mom's being your Yoda, you know, your coaches being your
Yoda. And I wouldn't be surprised to see that after you finish with your competitive athletic ability, that you become 1 of the most more inspirational speakers in Canada because you have context, and you've got a real sense of authenticity, and you've had mono, and your mental well-being has not always been firing that all cylinders, and there's days that you haven't been motivated. And all those lessons in life are lessons that are so important and so many other
people need to hear. So I can understand why the RBC Training Ground has you as an ambassador. And then the third thing that I'm so impressed with is how you've used what a lot of people consider reasons not to do things, your ADHD and your anxiety, and have managed to turn that into your superpowers at times when you really needed to come to terms with how you're feeling, and in
doing so, finding out your why. All of this that's been given to you, the legacy from your parents and your family, the mental well-being, the changing of sports, the leaving the little school to go to the big high school, all of this stuff to me that really laddered into your why, which is that fantasy novel of the hero capable of conquering anything that's in front of him.
So as a dad, I'm just so proud of you. And I'm I'm sorry I can say it because I'm not your dad, but I'm just so proud of how mature and confident and honest and wonderful you are as a human being. I really appreciate you being on Chatter That Matters. Well, that was just about the most wonderful thing anyone said about me. I'm I'm blushing over here practically cheering up because that was just so thoughtful. So thank you very much for saying that. If you're a fan of the show, you know
that I'm a fan of Sam Effah. He's he's represented Canada Three world championships, 3 world university games, 2 Commonwealth games. He also came in second on Amazing Race Canada season 7, and he loves to give back. He loves to help people get to where they wanna go. And we're gonna talk to him today about his full time role with RBC Training Ground. Sam, welcome back to Chatter That Matters. Yeah. Thanks for having me, Tony. Excited to be back. I have to believe
you're pretty busy with the Olympics around the corner. Yeah. Definitely. We're we're gearing up. We have RBC Olympians, RBC Training Ground Three all gearing up for Paris. So it's it's a really exciting time for us. Tell me a little bit more about RBC Training Ground. What is it, and why is it important not only to the Three, but to Canada in general? So RBC Training Ground, it's, it's a talent ID and athlete funding program. We find and fund the next generation of Canadian
Olympians. So if you're, like, anywhere from 14 to 25 living in Canada, we have these qualifying events where essentially Key have national sport organizations. So like canoe, kayak Canada, all the way to Bobs Lake Canada. They're just, like, watching to see if you have Olympic potential. And it's really cool because, you know, this is not something I had when I was younger, but I would have loved to just come to an event where, you know, you I test my speed, strength, endurance, and
power, and then somebody tells me, hey. You're geared for track cycling. But the really cool thing about this program is we've seen Three, you know, they just came out, just to have some fun, meet some people, but they're on the path now to, you know, the Olympic podium. And I think that in its own is an amazing story. So we're there from kind of the beginnings all the way up to when they step on that podium and and get
that medal around their neck. Avalon is so complimentary on how important training ground is to her ambitions to be a repeat gold medalist. She talks about how important it is to the community in general to know that an organization like RBC is not just getting involved with the Olympics to get some attention, but in fact, getting involved with the Olympics to help more
Canadians pursue their dreams. How successful is it? Is she an anomaly, or are we seeing more and more athletes come through it with that sort of appetite for owning the podium? Yeah. I wouldn't say I wouldn't say Avalon is an an anomaly. I think she's absolutely talented, but I think we have many Avalons across the country. We just need to go out and find them. Like, so far in the program, we've seen we've tested over 14, 000 athletes.
1600 have been identified by national sport organizations as having potential. So to to see just the work that we've already done, but then also have athletes like Avalon, Pierce LaPage, Kelsey Mitchell, you know, we've had 13 Olympians, you know, go from our program to the game, 7 medalists. I I don't think it's an anomaly. And I think as we as we move forward in our program or in year 9 right now, we only can really go up from here. And I'm very, very pumped to see how many other Olympians we
have up in, up in Paris. You know, Sam, in my in the previous episode, you talked about finding purpose and how much you loved to give back. I have to believe this job is the job of a lifetime for you because it's within a world that you know well. So there's you have currency and credibility, but you also have the resources, the RBC training ground to give young Sams a chance. Yeah. I I wish I had, started in a program like this when I was younger just to be able to
try a ton of different sports, see where I sort of fit in. But I'm passionate about it because it's it kinda intersects that community development piece. This year, we went into some communities that that generally don't get a lot of events like this. Like, we went up to Grand Prairie for a a training ground ground event and we recruited. We're going to Thompson, Manitoba, so a smaller community. And I'm just a big thing for me is giving as many people an
opportunity as I as we can. And, Sam, if you'd gone through Training Ground at a younger age, do you think you would have found another sport, or do you think that you were just set up to be 1 the fastest in the world? I think, honestly, if I went through training ground, RBC training ground, I probably I can see bobsleigh or Skeleton Canada coming at me just because I had a fast start, but III feel like I'll never really know. Maybe I could have been a speed skater.
Maybe I could've been on skis, but maybe maybe I could've just stuck in the same sport. I I feel like I'll never really know, but there could've been the opportunity for sure. Well, that's the beauty of RBC Training Ground because now they know. So I really appreciate you joining me on Chatter That Matters, and I hope you come back more than the 2 times you've been on so far because you're just a fantastic guest. Awesome. Thanks for having me, Tony.
Appreciate it. Chatter that matters has been a presentation of RBC. It's Tony Chapman. Thanks for listening. Let's chat soon.