Nancy Olmsted (born February 25, 1966, in

North Bay, Ontario North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airport was an important military ...

) is a Canadian

kayaker A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

, she is the youngest of four children of Charlie and the late Joan Olmsted. Nancy competed in the Sport of Canoeing during the 1980s and during that time, represented Canada in two summer Olympic Games; 1984 in Los Angeles and 1988 in Seoul, Korea. She was a spare in 1984 at the age of 18 and competed in the K-4 500m event with her sister Barbara and placed 10 in the 1988 Olympic Games. Nancy was the first woman athlete to win six gold medals at the Canadian Canoe Championships in Calgary in 1983 and placed 6th in the Junior World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland in the K-1 500m event. She was a member of the Canadian National Canoe Team from 1983 to 1992. During that time, she represented the North Bay Canoe Club in the Canadian Championships winning over 50 National Championship medals during her canoeing career. Her best world performance was fifth in the K-2 event in 1991 and achieved a bronze medal in the K-2 event with her sister, Barbara in the World University Games in 1987 in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. In addition to this, Nancy was a varsity level cross-country skier and competed in the University circuit for 5 years and placed second in 4 of these 5 years while representing Queen's University and Nipissing University respectively. While attending Nipissing University, the women's team won the Varsity Ontario University Championships under the direction of Nordic Coach, Dave Rees. Nancy was named to the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame and was also named the Northern Ontario athlete of the year in 1983. Olmsted is a native of

. She received her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

specializing in Physical and Health Education from Queen's University; Bachelor of Education from

Nipissing University , mottoeng = Spirit of Integrity , established = , former_names = Northeastern University (1960-1967), Nipissing College (1967-1992) , type = Public University , academic_affiliation = COU, CVU, Universities Canada , endowment ...

; Bachelor of Health Sciences (Physiotherapy) from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

; Master of Rehabilitation from

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

; Master of Science (Rehabilitation Science) from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Sprott School of Business; and Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety from

University of Fredericton The University of Fredericton is a private for-profit online university established in 2005 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The university's first verified degrees were offered in 2007. It offers MBA, EMBA and Master’s Certificates through it ...

. Nancy continues to contribute to sport with public speaking and motivating young athletes to pursue their dreams. She currently is the owner and CEO of Olmsted Physiotherapy and maintains clinical practice with complex Orthopaedic cases and Sports Injuries and provides future care cost reports for personal injury lawyers. She continues to compete as a Masters level athlete in cycling and triathlons to remain fit as an older athlete. Her most recent accomplishment was completing the Grand Fondo Cycling race in Niagara Falls and placed 6th in her age category and the top 75 in a field of 1000 in all age groups. She is the team leader for the "Trail Blasers" who will be participating in the

Enbridge Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. ...

Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2014.

References

Nancy Olmsted's profile at Sports Reference.com
1966 births Living people Canadian female canoeists Canoeists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists for Canada Sportspeople from North Bay, Ontario Sprott School of Business alumni {{Canada-canoe-bio-stub