It wasn’t long ago that Mark Oldershaw would roam the halls of Carleton University just like any other student.
Before he graduated back in 2010, Oldershaw hung out with his friends at Oliver’s Pub, spent lots of time in the library, and played intramural hockey and soccer.
Less than three years later, he’s an Olympic medalist.
Oldershaw, a 29-year-old Burlington, Ont. native, paddled to a bronze medal Aug. 8 at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, after posting a time of 3:48 in the one-man 1,000-metre canoe sprint.
“It’s hard to describe exactly how I felt when I got the bronze; it was so overwhelming,” said Oldershaw, who first came to Carleton in 2002, but took most spring semesters off to train in Florida, in addition to a couple years around the Olympics.
“So much of my life had gone into preparing for that race, so to actually make it happen on the day when it counted the most was a great feeling.”
A well-deserved one, too.
For quite some time, it seemed like winning an Olympic medal just wasn’t in the Oldershaw family’s cards. Often referred to as Canada’s first paddling family, the Oldershaws have a rich history in the water.
Mark’s grandfather, Bert, started the family tradition by competing in the 1948 Summer Games — also held in London — and two others. His three sons, including Mark’s father, Scott, also appeared in the Olympics, but they too walked away empty-handed.
Then came Mark. The family’s last hope, one might say. But that’s not how he looked at it.
“I never really thought of myself as my family’s last chance to get a medal,” he said. “Just participating in the Olympic Games is an accomplishment my family is very proud of so we never felt like we were missing something by not winning a medal.”
And although he was once considered one of the top Canadian junior paddlers, there came a point in time when even he looked like a long shot to reach the elusive Olympic podium.
In 2003, Oldershaw developed a non-cancerous tumour in his paddling hand, which required two surgeries and halted his Olympic aspirations. But there was more to it than that.
“It was a very difficult time for me, not only in sport but in life,” he said. “It caused a lot of pain and I wasn’t able to do a lot of the things I loved to do. Getting through that taught me a lot, how to appreciate things in life and to really enjoy every day.”
So that’s what he did.
After watching his friend and training partner Adam van Koeverden capture gold in the K-1, 500-metre event at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Oldershaw qualified for the 2010 Games in Beijing.
But he admittedly struggled in his Olympic debut, failing to advance to the finals and finishing 10th overall.
Then he set his sights on London, and the rest is history.
“I’m still on a high from it, but it’s starting to finally sink in,” Oldershaw said. “The reception I’ve gotten from everyone has been absolutely incredible. People from all over Canada have reached out to me and congratulated me. It’s been a pretty amazing feeling.”
And as a first-time Olympic medalist, Oldershaw has already learned a valuable lesson: keep your medal around your neck at all times. A few days after his race, Oldershaw went out to a bar in London and forgot to bring his medal to get in free. So he used van Koeverden’s.
“I guess it was a rookie mistake,” Oldershaw said. “Adam said to keep it with me at all times for the next six months so I guess I’ll have to do that.”
And you can’t blame him.
