People in Sport Jillian Weir is a Team Canada hammer thrower who resides in Lethbridge and trains at the University of Lethbridge. Jillian has maternal Indigenous lineage and is a member of the Mohawks Bay of the Quinte. She was the only known Indigenous athlete on Team Canada in her Olympic debut last year competing in Tokyo, Japan where she finished 19th overall. In July 2021 Weir spoke to The National Post about what it means to her to inspire indigenous youth and she said, “If I can inspire any Indigenous youth, it’s hard to put into words what that would mean. Because I never saw Indigenous athletes in track and field competing at the Olympics when I was a kid. If I can be a model for anybody out there, that would be a big honour… A lot of young Indigenous people might not even know what the hammer throw is and aren’t familiar with all the different sports and events at the Olympics. The exposure to more sports will get more kids involved and lead to opportunity.”
Recreation Programs
Jillian played many different sports growing up and started track and field in grade 6 when she competed in running, jumping, and throwing events before focusing on shot put and discus in high school then added the hammer throw in university. Jillian is now training for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France where she will look to improve on her top 20 performance from her Olympic debut.
56
Follow our Facebook page to stay connected Sik-Ooh-Kotoki - Sport Connection - Lethbridge
Read about more P2P initiatives on our website -->
