Michael Sametz among the Calgary athletes honoured by mayor Naheed Nenshi
Sametz, alongside other athletes, was recognized when Nenshi proclaimed Monday Olympian and Paralympian Salute Day
On Monday, Oct. 3, Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi proclaimed the day to be Olympian and Paralympian Salute Day, recognizing the accomplishments of the city’s athletes at the recent Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics.
Calgary rider Michael Sametz, who finished with bronze in the men’s individual time trial, was among them.
“On behalf of city council,” Nenshi said before councillors in Calgary’s civic chambers, “I hereby proclaim Monday, Oct. 3 2016 as Olympian and Paralympian Salute Day. Your performances in Rio made us all proud to be Canadians and provided us with exciting memories that will stay with us forever.”
“We are, of course, in this city extremely proud of our own Olympian legacy,” Nenshi noted, referring to athletes such as Sametz who make the Alberta city their home. “We are even more proud of the role that our city plays in Canada’s Olympic movement as a centre of sport in this country.” For Sametz himself, representing his city in the saddle is a matter of prestige that goes beyond the Olympics, too.
Even before the Rio 2016 Games, the 20-year-old Calgary paracyclist boasted a number of high-profile successes. At the 2014 world championships, he placed fifth at the time trial and 10th at the road race. The following year’s World Cup event in Italy saw him elevate his athletic stature to include a third-place finish at the time trial. At the track world championships of 2015, his individual pursuit ride saw him take an eighth place result, while at the same year’s Pan Am Games, he placed second in the individual pursuit.
Then, earlier this year, the 2016 track world championships gave the Calgary rider an eighth place finish in the individual pursuit, with a third place result at the time trial of the 2016 World Cup in Belgium.
To fellow riders such as B.C.’s Tristen Chernove, Sametz’s honour in the halls of Calgary’s government is likely a foregone conclusion.
“For someone his age, the professionalism, the devotion and the talent he brings is pretty unmatched,” Chernove said of his teammate after Sametz’s bronze medal finish in Rio. “To me, he is such an example of grit, too. He does everything well and is a phenomenal talent that we are lucky to have on the team.”
