Where Olympic Journeys Begin: How RBC Training Ground Is Helping Shape Team Canada for Milano Cortina 2026

Every Olympian has that moment in time when they fall in love with their sport. 

For a pair of Canadians headed to Milano Cortina 2026, that experience came thanks to RBC Training Ground.

Since 2016, RBC Training Ground has helped identify and fund aspiring Olympians across the country. Two of those athletes — Marion Thénault and Mike Evelyn O’Higgins  — represented Canada at Beijing 2022 and will do so again at this year’s Olympic Winter Games.

Thénault, 25, is a freestyle skier who won bronze in the mixed team aerials event in Beijing. But growing up in Sherbrooke, Quebec, her first athletic passion was actually gymnastics.

Then at age 17, she was introduced to aerials via RBC Training Ground. Just five years later, she was standing on an Olympic podium.

“RBC Training Ground changed my life, it made me discover a sport through which I can thrive,” she says. “When I talk to my friends around the world about my transition, they all say how amazing this RBC program seems.

“I am proud to say that yes, we have such a program in Canada and I continue to be involved in it by helping new athletes to evolve in the sport through which they thrive.”

She’s not alone in following that sort of path.

Mike Evelyn O’Higgins’ initial athletic journey was in hockey. He played five seasons for Dalhousie University in Halifax while earning a degree in engineering.

In 2018, while still a Dalhousie student, O’Higgins attended the RBC Training Ground regional final in Halifax. There, he was recruited by Bobsleigh Canada; the following year, he made his debut in international bobsleigh competition on the North American cup circuit.

At Beijing 2022, he finished seventh in the two-man event and ninth in the four-man event alongside Chris Spring. That kind of transformation is pretty on-brand for O’Higgins, who thrives on overcoming challenges and pushing his limits.

“I take what I do seriously, but I don’t take myself too seriously,” he says. “I believe in burning the candle at both ends and stopping to smell the flowers.”

As for being an RBC Olympian, O’Higgins sums it up in one word: opportunity.

“It means one of the most well-known and established trusted partners of Canadian sport is betting on me and believes in my story and that I am empowered to share my story on a national scale,” he says.

In fact, RBC is the longest-standing corporate sponsor of Team Canada, with nearly 80 years of support. And as RBC Training Ground has grown as a program, it’s become the primary identification tool for athletes, like Evelyn, to enter Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton’s national programs.

It’s not just sliding events, however; since 2016, over 20,000 athletes have done testing through RBC Training Ground. These tests measure speed, strength, power and endurance, helping national sport organizations find athletes who could excel in particular events.

In recent years, the program has expanded to be even more inclusive. In 2024, RBC Training Ground events were held in new markets with the goal of reaching a greater share of Indigenous, racialized and geographically isolated communities.

Then in 2025, several new initiatives were launched:

• The Athlete Accelerator, a fund aimed at supporting athletes who face financial barriers to participating in high-performance sport.
• Women’s Hour, an optional, scheduled timeslot at RBC Training Ground qualifying events allowing women to participate in an environment they may feel more comfortable in.
• The Inclusion Council, comprised of different stakeholders committed to advancing the goal of fair and inclusive participation for all athletes.

In the past decade, 21 RBC Training Ground alumni have gone on to become Olympians. That group has brought home 14 medals for Team Canada across both Summer and Winter Games.

One of those medallists, Thénault, is intent on using her experience to propel the next generation of aspiring athletes.

“Being part of Team RBC now means giving back, maturing in the sport and sharing my knowledge,” she says.

That next generation will have their opportunities to shine in 2026 as Year 11 of RBC Training Ground gets underway.

With 20 free qualifying events taking place across the country, athletes between the ages of 14 and 25 will be able to test their own Olympic potential. For more information or to register for an event, athletes can visit RBCTrainingGround.ca.