One of the more impressive UBC Kinesiology athletes is Sue Holloway (1983), an Olympian and multi-talented athlete. While at UBC Sue competed on the cross-country team under coach Doug Clement and the Varsity swim team coached by Jack Kelso. Concurrently Holloway was competing on Canada’s National ski team, Nordic Skiing being her specialty, in addition to being a former Canadian kayak champion.
At the 1976 Winter Olympics Sue represented Canada in the 10k and 5k Nordic skiing relays. Amazingly she also had represented Canada at the 1976 Summer Games in the Kayaking events there by becoming the first Canadian to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics the same year.
With kayaking emerging as her specialty she was selected to be the flag bearer for Canada’s 1980 Olympic team. FollowingUBC she was again selected to Canada’s team for the ’84 Games, winning bronze in the 500m fours and silver in the 500m pairs.
Although our Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame inductee did not win her medals in a Varsity sport, this ground-breaking four-time Olympic team member was indeed a Thunderbird, competing as a Varsity athlete while a Kinesiology student 1980 through ’83.
Written by Fred Hume, UBC Historian
