HALTON 鈥� Track cyclist Cole Dempster has been selected as one of the winners of the Canadian Olympic Committee鈥檚 annual Canada-wide talent search. 听
He was chosen by Olympic talent scouts during the RBC Training Ground national final on Dec. 2 and will receive RBC Future Olympian Funding.
Dempster, who lives near Rockwood, told the Advertiser the $7,500 in funding will open up a lot of opportunities.
The Grade 12 Acton District High School student is on an accelerated path to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and is currently training with Team Canada.
The place on Team Canada is one of the perks of winning the talent search, but Dempster has already been cycling on Canada鈥檚 National Team since 2022. At 17, he鈥檚 the youngest cyclist ever on Team Canada.听
鈥淏eing with them is a huge honour,鈥� Dempster said.听
His teammates include Olympic gold medal winner Kelsey Mitchell, who Dempster said is very encouraging and offers helpful advice. 听
The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Sports Institute partner with RBC to run the annual Canada-wide talent search, and this year more than 2,200 athletes from 14 to 25 years old participated. Olympic talent scouts from nine different sports assess athletes鈥� strength, endurance, power and speed.听
Dempster is shown in action at the RBC Training Ground national final on Dec. 2.Photo by Kate Dockeray
鈥淐ole has had a tremendous year on the bike, considering he is only a 17-year-old first-year Junior,鈥� states Cycling Canada coach Tanya Dubincoff in a press release.听
Dubincoff has been working with Dempster since 2022.听
In 2023, Dempster won bronze in the men鈥檚 sprint at the Junior Track Cycling World Championships, cycling 200 metres in 9.95 seconds.听
鈥淗e鈥檚 done so well so quickly that he鈥檚 even been granted permission to compete at the Elite National Track Cycling Championship as a second-year junior,鈥�
Dubincoff states.听
鈥淗e is an exciting prospect for LA 2028, but still new to the sport and not yet a carded athlete so this funding from RBC will be very helpful,鈥� she notes.听
Though winning the Olympic talent search funding does not guarantee Dempster will qualify for the 2028 Olympics, he said it shows that he is 鈥渙n the right听 track鈥� and is progressing well for his age.听
鈥淎 lot of people are saying I鈥檓 going to be one of the top in Canada 鈥� and possibly the world,鈥� Dempster said.听
Winning the talent search has shown Dempster his Olympic goals are 鈥渄efinitely more of a reality than a dream.鈥�听
Dempster said while he isn鈥檛 yet ready to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, he is confident about the progress he can make between now and the LA Olympics.听
The funding will help with this progress by enabling Dempster to compete in more races.听
Cole Dempster was assessed in strength, endurance, power and speed during the RBC Training Ground national final on Dec. 2. Photo by Kate Dockeray
The money doesn鈥檛 go directly to Dempster, but is held by Cycling Canada, which dispenses funds for Dempster鈥檚 training needs.听 听
鈥淚鈥檓 definitely lacking a lot of experience racing,鈥� which is a common problem for Canadians, Dempster said 鈥� 鈥渨e鈥檙e pretty good riders but lack racing experience.鈥�听
He said this is because most races happen in Europe and South America, not North America.听
However, there is a race in Pennsylvania he hopes to attend this year, Dempster noted. He also hopes to travel to Germany this year for a race there.听
It鈥檚 possible Dempster could use the funding for better equipment, but he doesn鈥檛 expect to need it for that, as he鈥檚 already riding an Argon 18 Electron Pro 鈥� the model used at the 2016 Rio Olympics.听
Dempster鈥檚 goal at the 2028 Olympics is to place within the top 10 athletes. He鈥檚 also aiming to break the world record for the 200-metre sprint.听
