The Canadian Olympic Committee prides itself on putting athletes at the center of what it does. At every level of the organization, from the Board of Directors to our interns, our team is made up of people who genuinely believe in the power of sport – including an impressive group of Olympians, Paralympians, Olympians, Pan Am athletes and former National Team athletes, recreational athletes and sports enthusiasts. In this script series, we will tell the stories of our team members who competed in the Games and now dedicate their professional lives to helping the next generation of Team Canada athletes achieve their dreams.

Sandra Sassine took part in two Olympic Games in fencing. In addition to his full-time position at COC, Sassine has recently succeeded his father as owner of COC Lion Heart Fencing Club in Montreal – a role that is dear to his heart.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What is your role at COC?

I had just received my Diploma in Physical Education and was a qualified teacher when I started as a coordinator on the Olympic education team about ten years ago. My mission was to turn athletes’ stories into educational resources for young students to learn from. One of the reasons I wanted to join the COC was the opportunity to share the diverse stories of our Canadian athletes.

Growing up in a small sport (fencing) that wasn’t well known in Canada and only got the spotlight at the Olympics, I’ve faced many challenges and frustrations as an athlete. I wanted to help change that by presenting a full portrait of what athletes are and not just limiting myself to athletic performance. Then in 2019 I transitioned to the role of Athlete Marketing and Olympians Legacy Manager. My team’s primary goal is to equip Team Canada Olympians to be our best representatives of the Olympic Movement. Our goal is to maximize athlete engagement opportunities across Olympic brands, support the important contribution of Olympians in giving back to their communities, and protect athlete performance levels through well-designed athlete engagement protocols.

How important is sport to you?

My father moved to Canada from Egypt in 1965 and I played several sports. He built a fencing empire in the small town of Chibougamau and moved to Montreal in the late 1990s, where he founded the Cœur de Lion Fencing Club. When I was 13, my father (a physical education teacher and after-school program manager) needed a fitness coach, so he drove me on the bus to complete a Level 1 course in the discipline. That’s how my coaching career started.

I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by remarkable role models like my mother, who is one of the few female fencing champions in Canada. Sport brings me joy, but it also brings with it many challenges. It’s a way of life. I have made lifelong friends in the sports community around the world, including my best friend Marie-Ève ​​Marleau OLY.

My 23-year-old partner and father of my six-year-old daughter, Lu Bonnet, is a badminton player and we met through the sport at CEGEP. Lu taught me how to play badminton. We played together in various provincial tournaments and were opponents at university – he played for UdeM and I for UQAM. Sport has shaped the life I lead now and will continue to shape the rest of my life.

How has the frustration you feel as an athlete in a small, often overlooked sport affected your work at COC?

A lot, I would say. As an athlete, you focus on your daily life, what you need to do to get to the top, and constantly looking for support so you don’t feel alone in this adventure. Now that I work at COC, I realize that sport is much bigger than the small universe that revolves around an athlete.

For the first 20 years of my career, I received very little financial support from partnerships. After attending Beijing 2008, over the past four years, my sports stories (lectures and engagements) and ability to build relationships with corporate partners have enabled me to secure enough financial resources to finish my career debt-free.

Instead of talking about me, it’s now my team that builds bridges between partners and Team Canada athletes. I’m happy to say that the number of athletes who have benefited from these engagement strategies has increased. It’s not always the same sport that we watch; they are not always the same names. Whenever I get the chance to post an open call, I do. We started a Facebook group, which now has 550 Olympians, so anyone who wants to network and get involved can do so.

I’m also very proud that I’ve been in charge for almost four years now OLY Canada Legacy Grants, which provides funds to support the great work athletes are doing in their communities. To date we have supported 32 different projects including one on sustainability in rowing led by Olympic champion Brenda Taylor OLY who is “leading her sport towards a zero carbon future”. In the long term I hope that we can not only help all projects financially. We need to find a way to help all Olympians who want to make a difference in their community.

What is the impact within the sports community that so many retired athletes are now working at the COC?

As employees and Olympians, we definitely see a difference because it’s athletes knocking on our door. You benefit from a direct communication channel. You contact us and we will point you in the right direction.

After almost 10 years at COC and having worked in different roles at five Olympic Games, I know how important the team behind the team is. As an Olympian, you don’t realize how much work goes on behind the scenes to ensure everything is in place to enable you to reach your full potential.

When you work on the Team Canada mission team at the Olympics, we want the athletes to feel the same way. We want them to be able to focus and think about what they need to do to have the best Olympic experience of their lives. We all know how important it is as Olympians because we’ve all been through it.