Hidden talents often lie beneath the surface in the world of sports, waiting to be discovered in the most unexpected places. A university wrestler might have the potential of an Olympic-level speed skater, and a rugby player could secretly hold the key to becoming an elite cyclist.

Brock students Mia Friesen and Julie Grohal are poised to turn their Olympic dreams into reality, possibly in an entirely new sport, thanks to the RBC Training Ground program, the Canadian Olympic Committee’s official talent search to identify and fund future Olympians.

Brock wrestler Mia Friesen took part in the RBC Training Ground qualifier in Brampton in March.

Friesen, who is entering her third season as a formidable presence with the Brock wrestling team, and Grohal, a fierce first-year wing with the Badgers’ women’s rugby team, were among the 2,200 athletes who participated in qualifier events across the country.

Their Olympic potential landed them spots in the RBC Training Ground’s Top 100 and both will compete in a national final on Saturday, Dec. 2 in Toronto.

The selection committee will then choose 30 athletes who will earn funding, a spot on Team Canada with one of 12 partner National Sport Organizations (NSO) and an accelerated path to the Olympics.

“I felt like I couldn’t let this opportunity pass by. It means a lot to advance and to be considered one of the Top 100 athletes to compete in the Training Ground,” said Friesen, a third-year Psychology student from St. Catharines. “I have Olympic-sized goals and I still have a lot of work to do in order to achieve them.”

During RBC Training Ground National Final testing, athletes’ speed, power, strength and endurance will again be tested against sport-specific high-performance benchmarks under supervision of program sport partners.

An athlete’s measurements such as height and wingspan, sport-specific testing and competitive sport history also play a role in who is selected for funding.

“I was contacted by coaches in sports I had never even thought about doing just after four different tests,” said Grohal, a Kinesiology student from Mulmur, Ont. “I go through self-doubt like many athletes do, but this signals to me that I’m on the right track. If we trust the process, even when life is hard, then rewards are on their way.”

In 2020, Niamh Haughey of the Brock women’s rugby and women’s hockey teams was named to Canada’s national bobsled team after she was identified as Olympic talent during an RBC Training Ground combine event held at Brock in 2018.