Five New Westminster athletes have qualified or have been chosen to represent Canada on the international stage of their respective sports.
Field hockey player Brenden Bissett, rugby player Caroline Crossley, hammer-thrower Kaila Butler, long-distance runner Addy Townsend and gymnast Sydney Turner are heading to Santiago, Chile, this week for the 2023 Pan American Games.
Bissett and Crossley are the returning veterans of the quadrennial event that features 41 countries from North, Central and South America.
The rest are looking to strike gold in their first-ever tip to the Games, which take place Oct. 20 to Nov. 5.
Here are bios of the New West athletes (in alphabetical order):
Brenden Bissett
Bissett is hoping to finally get to the top of the podium after settling for silver the last two Pan-Am Games.
The 30-year-old midfielder will be familiar with Santiago's turf after helping Canada to a bronze-medal finish in Chile at the 2022 Pan American Cup.
Bissett is a two-time Olympian, Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016, with the senior men's national team, but was eliminated from the group stage on both occasions.
The New West athlete made his debut with Canada's men's field hockey team in 2011 and has played in more than 150 caps.
Kaila Butler
Born in New Westminster, Butler's first trip to the Pan-Am Games will be the third time she's represented Canada on the international stage.
The hammer-thrower went to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where she finished eighth in the women's final.
Several months earlier, the 25-year-old set a new personal best throw of 69.35 metres while competing for Bowling Green University at the Len Paddock Open during the NCAA season.
Caroline Crossley
Crossley is on a mission with Canada's women's rugby sevens squad to repeat as Pan-Am champions.
The 25-year-old New West-born player won gold at Lima 2019 with the senior team.
She's also played at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, earned a silver in 2015 at the Commonwealth Youth Games and finished seventh at the 2018 Rugby Sevens World Cup.
Addy Townsend
Townsend will take to the Pan-Am Games rubber for the very first time in hopes of a long-distance medal for Canada.
The 25-year-old primarily competes in 800 metres with the national track-and-field team and she is likely to do so again for Santiago 2023.
Townsend, who was born in New Westminster, recorded her personal international-best seventh-place finish at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore.
She competed with SFU's track-and-field team from 2016 to 2021 and was named a NCAA Div. II All-American in 2017.
Sydney Turner
Born in New West, Turner's first-ever appearance at a Pan-Am Games will serve as a tune-up before heading to the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The 18-year-old gymnast helped solidify Canada's team ticket to Paris after a third-place finish at the 2022 world artistic championships.
Her placing on the Olympic team isn't secured yet, but a good showing in Santiago may vault her onto the squad.
Turner competed on uneven bars, beam, and floor exercise in the team final of her world championship debut.
She won back-to-back team bronze medals at the Pan American Championships in 2022 and 2023, as well as a bronze on the uneven bars in 2022 when she placed fourth in the all-around.
