Michelle Harrison - middle, back in her days as a Huskie Track and Field Athlete (Photo By Bob Holtsman/Get My Photo, Huskie Athletics)
Amazing Alumni

Huskies well represented at Paris Olympics

Jul 30, 2024 | 10:11 AM

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris won’t be unfamiliar territory to those connected to the University of Saskatchewan.

Between players, coaches, and broadcasters, Huskie Athletics will be well represented in France.

First off it’s the hometown athlete, Michelle Harrison — a former member of the U Sask Women’s Track and Field team from 2018-2020.

Harrison won three Canadian university championship titles in the 60m hurdles during her time in the Green and White.

She also set a Canada West Championship record (8.21s) and USports Championship record (8.15s) in her final year.

The 31-year-old from Saskatoon will chase gold in the 100m Hurdles and is currently ranked second in Canada in the event.

Two current Huskies will represent. Lisa Thomaidis will once again be the leader of the German Women’s Basketball squad.

The six-time Canada West Coach of the Year and three-time U Sports Coach of the Year has coached in three prior Olympic Games (all with Team Canada) back in 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio and 2021 in Tokyo.

She will guide Germany to their first-ever Olympic appearance, alongside assistant coach Connor Jay, who currently holds the title of director of creativity and digital media with the U Sask Women’s Bball Club.

Finally, the CBC Olympic Broadcast Team will also feature Huskie ties, as former U of S basketball player Michael Linklater will join former U Sask women’s hockey play-by-play Daniella Ponticelli as the voices of the 3×3 basketball competition.

Linklater was a U Sports champion in 2010 (as a captain), which is still the lone National Championship in program history.

As for Ponticelli, she became a part of history when she worked for HuskieFAN, as Pattison Media was the first private broadcaster in Canada to commit to broadcasting a full season of women’s hockey with an all-female crew.

The now PWHL broadcaster led that crew as the voice of the Dogs during the 2021/22 season.

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris began on July 24th and will run until August 11th.

Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8

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