Alumni Olympians’ portraits to hang in Ron Joyce Centre

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Kayak spring Brady Reardon, left, and bobsledder Jesse Lumsden - both McMaster alumni - are two of the five area athletes whose portraits will hang in the Ron Joyce Centre.

BY Bryan Mehi

February 14, 2014

The Ron Joyce Centre’s Great Hall may not be synonymous with the Olympics, but for the next few months it will be home to five portraits of Burlington Olympians – including two McMaster alumni – in support of the Sochi Winter Games.

The five pieces are by award-winning artist Deborah Pearce, who studied under Robert Bateman at Burlington’s Nelson High School, earned her bachelor of fine arts from Mount Allison University and taught across Canada before returning home to Burlington. She currently teaches at the Burlington Art Centre.

Pearce’s portraits are a celebration of local athletes who have represented – or are currently representing – Canada at the Olympic Games. They are:

Jesse Lumsden, Bobsledder and former Marauders and CFL running back. He and his teammates finished fifth in both two- and four-man bobsleigh events at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. He is currently competing in Sochi.

Brady Reardon, 1000-metre kayak sprinter and McMaster alumnus. He paddled for Canada in 2008 and 2012, having followed in his father’s footsteps – Jim Reardon kayaked for Canada at the 1972 Munich Summer Games.

Becky Kellar, retired defender for Canada’s women’s Olympic hockey team. Silver at the 1998 Nagano Olympics preceded a stunning three-straight gold medals at Salt Lake City (2002), Torino (2006) and Vancouver (2010). While no longer competing on the national level, Kellar still laces up her skates for the Burlington Barracudas in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

Helen Nichol, retired Olympic badminton player. Nichol represented Canada at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and went on to mentor and coach competitive badminton players at the Glencoe Club in Calgary.

Mark Oldershaw, 1000-metre Olympic Canoe Sprinter. Mark has rowed for Canada at both the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Summer Games, winning bronze at the latter. He is the fifth member of the Oldershaw family to compete in canoe at the Olympic Games, a legacy that began with his grandfather, who also competed in London in 1948.