She’s a successful athlete, singer and business graduate with a natural beauty and strength that sparkles, both inside and out. Madison Mailey is a Women’s Eight rowing champion and a gold medal Olympian that knows what it takes to be part of a winning team. Hear how she is conquering the world, and stealing hearts, one ‘bow’ at a time.

PODCAST TIMELINE

0:00 - Intro

1:30 - How did it all start? Who is Madison Mailey, gold medalist?

3:25 - ‘I’ve been surrounded incredible teammates and incredible coaches.’

4:15 - The trip to Tokyo. Competing as a team and the Olympic experience.

6:40 - ‘None of us could have done it without each other.’

7:10 - Competing as part of Team Canada. What was Team Canada’s reception in Tokyo?

7:55 - ‘Just wearing the maple leaf for Canada, we wore that leaf proudly.’

8:35 - Durig our What doeWhat do Y

9:30 - ‘We had to do a test everyday. We have to stay distanced. We tried to stay separated from other countries. We had to leave 24 hrs after our race.’

10:10 - ‘Normally you get to stay and have fun, so we got robbed of that a little bit. But we got to race and do what we love to do and that meant everything to me.’

10:40 - Teammate Maxwell Lattimer. Other team members had to watch the race from the village. Friend and family on FaceTime.

13:00 - Showing off the gold medal. People recognizing you in public as an Olympian. What does it feel like?

14:00 - ‘Everyone in my boat - I really trusted them. Everybody moving as one and bringing their own strengths. Everyone brought something different, something special.’

14:55 - ‘Redefine excellence, that was our mantra. It feels incredible to be an Olympian. If I could get one or two kids to pick up an oar and meet friends and travel the world and become better people then that would be worth it for me.’

16:00 - What do you do and eat to prepare for a race? What’s the hardest part?

17:55 - Are you gunning for the next Olympics in Paris in 2024?

19:25 - You’re planning a career in commerce, and you’re also a singer. Tell us Madison’s faves - music, food, fun. Tell us some of your secrets.

23:25 - Where do you see yourself in five years?

---

Catherine: Welcome everyone to the WestVancouver Magazine podcast. We are so excited to welcome the magnificent Madison Mailey. She is from West Vancouver/Lions Bay, and she is a rowing champion who now sports a gold medal from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the Women’s Eight. Madison, tell us how it all started?

Madison: In grade eight, I was choosing what sport to do, and I had signed up for the volleyball team. But when I came home, my mom encouraged me to do an outdoor sport. And my brother had just tried rowing the year before. And so they said, why not do the same thing as Brook? And so I went out there, and I pretty much instantly fell in love with the sport. I thought it was very fun. I love the idea of being with my friends, and I had so many laughs. That’s kind of how it started. And then I went to university in Boston. So that’s how I got my first taste of high-performance rowing. And now it’s the national team. So it’s been a journey.

Catherine: I want to point out here that Tokyo 2020 is not your first gold medal. You’ve got a 2017 and 2018 gold medal from the U23 World Rowing Championships. You have a silver medal from the World Rowing Championships, all in the Women’s Eight, so you’re kind of used to the podium, aren’t you?

Madison: I have had success on the world stage for sure. I’ve been surrounded by incredible teammates, and really good coaches. And yeah, I feel very thankful for the experiences I’ve had so far. We’ve had some success in the Canadian Women’s Eights and Fours. So it’s been a fun program to be a part of.

Catherine: Tell us what it was like travelling to Tokyo and being part of the Olympic experience?

Madison: We spent months in Japan [training]. We first flew to a city called Sagamihara - and we trained th...