Even as she chases ambitious goals in the world of medicine, Brooke Mazur-Ng has always managed to make time for sports.
asserted
Ng → chase → sports
The Toronto native played just about everything growing up, but hockey was the one that stuck.
asserted
that → play → everything
So while she completed her undergraduate degree in integrated biomedical engineering and health sciences at McMaster University followed by a master’s degree in biomedical innovation, she starred as a goalie on the women’s hockey team (she was even on the men’s roster as an on-call netminder) and the women’s water polo team.
asserted
she → complete → netminder
Mazur-Ng is one of many student athletes who find a way to balance the heavy commitments of academics and sports — “I am convinced that each has made me better at the other,” she says.
asserted
she → find → other
But everyone has their limits.
asserted
everyone → have → limits
Now at Toronto Metropolitan University, the 23-year-old is on the women’s varsity hockey team’s roster but isn’t actively playing as the new season gets underway.
asserted
season → play → roster
Between medical school and work at the Women’s College Hospital, committing to her team’s demanding schedule was simply not possible anymore.
asserted
committing → commit → schedule
Mazur-Ng had to step away from the game she loved, but she wasn’t ready to let her passion for sports go.
asserted
passion → have → sports
“It’s a huge part of my identity,” Mazur-Ng says.
asserted
Ng → ’ → identity
“It’s taught me a lot about who I am.”
asserted
I → teach → lot
Mazur-Ng was one of 100 athletes competing at the RBC Training Ground national final in Mississauga earlier this month, a program that has produced 28 Canadian Olympians and 14 medals by testing the physical limits of athletes across the country and identifying the sports where they can succeed.
asserted
they → compete → sports
The program, which started 11 years ago, has not only become an important part of Canada’s Olympic pipeline, it’s given many Canadians a second chance at fulfilling a dream in sports.
asserted
it → start → sports
Perhaps the most well known is Kelsey Mitchell, who went from a soccer player to track cyclist after her vertical jump caught the attention of Cycling Canada in 2017.
asserted
jump → know → 2017
She famously went from not owning a bike to winning gold in Tokyo after just three years of training.
asserted
She → go → training
The 2023 world decathlon champion Pierce LePage also got his start here.
asserted
champion → get → start
“There’s a lot of talented athletes in the world, in Canada, but they don’t have that hunger and drive,” says Mitchell.
asserted
Mitchell → ’ → hunger
To reach the final, Mazur-Ng attended a free RBC Training Ground qualifier at the University of Toronto in May.
uncertain
Ng → reach → May
Cycling Canada was impressed by her results and identified her as a candidate for track cycling, a sport she never expected to pursue.
asserted
she → impress → cycling
The gym in Mississauga was buzzing as several Olympians who got their start at the RBC Training Ground including Mitchell were in attendance to mentor and support the 100 athletes testing their limits earlier this month.
asserted
who → buzz → limits
Mazur-Ng admires that Mitchell didn’t pigeon-hole herself to one specific sport.
asserted
Mitchell → admire → sport
“She just considers herself an athlete, and I actually find that a very cool sentiment because it challenges you to find a better version of yourself,” she says.
asserted
she → consider → yourself
Mazur-Ng sees cycling as a more manageable sport to train for while finishing medical school.
asserted
Ng → see → school
Unlike hockey, cycling allows her to train more independently and create her own schedule.
asserted
her → allow → schedule
Among the 100 athletes on hand, 35 will be selected at the end of the month to join Canada’s Olympic development pipeline and receive funding to train, travel and compete.
asserted
35 → select → funding
Evan MacInnis, the technical director for the RBC Training Ground, explains just how the program selects its potential future Olympians.
asserted
program → explain → Olympians
“We measure how high they could jump to get some power, to see how fast they can run for some speed.
uncertain
they → measure → speed
We do a strength test, to see how strong they are, and then we do endurance,” he says.
asserted
he → do → endurance
The results are then compared to age and gender standards.
asserted
results → compare → standards
Canada’s 16 national sports organizations watch the testing and look at the numbers and ask: Which sport could this athlete excel in?
uncertain
athlete → watch → sport
In addition to testing her physical limits, Mazur-Ng wanted to see how she would perform under pressure and learn from the athletes around her.
asserted
she → test → her
As athletes moved from one test to the next, pushing themselves to the point of exhaustion, strangers cheered as if they’d known each other for ages.
asserted
they → move → ages
“It was surprisingly a lot more fun than I thought.”
asserted
I → think → ?
Mazur-Ng says.
asserted
Ng → say → ?
Mazur-Ng’s dreams extend beyond sports.
asserted
dreams → extend → sports
She hopes to become a physician who combines clinical practice with research and innovation to improve health care.
asserted
who → hop → care
But after sacrificing her team sport to pursue that goal, she has a new athletic ambition on her radar.
asserted
she → sacrifice → radar
“I’m really lucky where I get to do a lot of things that I’m really passionate about, one of which being medicine, one of which being sports,” she says.
asserted
she → ’m → which
“If I’m able to have careers in both, I think that would be amazing.”
asserted
that → ’m → both
The Aporia
