Concordians shine at 2022 Commonwealth Games

Gold

Tammara Thibeault 
Boxing Middleweight

An undergraduate student in Concordia’s Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Tammara Thibeault is currently majoring in urban planning and hopes to pursue a PhD. Her gold-medal win from the 2022 Commonwealth Games adds to her growing collection of medals, which include a bronze from the 2018 games and gold medals from both the Canadian Championships and American Continental Championships in 2017. Thibeault also competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

“To succeed in the 2022 CWG [Commonwealth Games] it was really a question of teamwork,” says Thibeault. “We had a very busy year, filled with ups and downs and what really pulled it together for this competition was how we always worked as a team.”

Silver

Linda Morais, BSc 17 
Wrestling 68 Kg

After graduating from the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, where she majored in exercise science, Linda Morais pursued a professional career in wrestling. Among her accomplishments, the former Stingers athlete is a three-time U Sports gold medalist, won a silver medal at the 2021 Senior Pan-American Championships and gold at the World Championships in 2019. While Morais missed qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, she learned from the experience — which she says took a toll on her — by using a different approach heading into this year’s Commonwealth Games.

“Instead of being so focused on the result, I allowed myself to enjoy the moments,” says Morais. “The day-to-day training became easier because I no longer worried about the outcome.”

Bronze

Alexander Moore 
Wrestling 86 Kg

An undergraduate student in finance at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business, Alexander Moore bounced back from past injuries in his sport with a bronze model at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Among his accolades, the Stingers athlete won bronze at the 2019 Senior Pan-Am Championships and gold at the 2017 Junior Pan-Am Championships.

“The mental resilience I’ve built through the tough sport of wrestling has prepared me to deal with these situations,” says Moore. “I wanted to win but ultimately lost a close semi-final to the world silver medalist.”

Bianca Farella, Attd.
Rugby Sevens 
Result: 4th place

While studying behavioural neuroscience at Concordia, Bianca Farella joined the Stingers women’s rugby team in 2012. Just four years later, she won a bronze medal with Team Canada in the first-ever women’s rugby tournament at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. And, in 2018, Farella was named Rugby Canada Player of the Year (Sevens).

Danielle Kisser 
Aquatics – Swimming and Para Swimming 
Result: 4th place

After overcoming a major injury in 2014, Danielle Kisser has been at the forefront of Canada’s Para swimming national team. She is a current undergraduate student at Concordia pursuing a double major in linguistics and theology. In 2018, Kisser won a silver medal in the 100-metre backstroke SF, breaking her own Canadian record, and a bronze medal in the 50-metre breaststroke SB6.

Amélie Kretz 
Triathlon
Result: 15th place

Two-time Olympic triathlete Amélie Kretz is currently pursuing athletic therapy at Concordia. In 2013, she won a gold medal at the International Triathlon Union World Cup, followed by a silver medal in 2015. When COVID-19 pandemic restricted access to her training facilities in 2020, Kretz made news for finding a creative way to keep training by setting up a pool in her parents’ garage.

Coaches

Jocelyn Barrieau

Currently leading the Concordia women's rugby team as head coach, Jocelyn Barrieau served as an assistant coach for Canada’s Women’s Rugby Sevens team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Barrieau’s expertise helped the team finish fourth in the competition.

“We are proud of our performance — and we should be!” says Barrieau. “While we wanted to bring home a bronze medal, we showed a lot of growth over the week, and we played with composure and confidence against New Zealand.

“The team is looking forward to our next opportunity to compete. We are building something special as a group, and my time as head coach at Concordia definitely helped me prepare to work with this amazing group of athletes.”

David Zilberman, BA 07 MA 15

David Zilberman is the current head coach of the Concordia Stingers men’s wrestling program and served as head coach of the Canadian freestyle wrestling team at this year’s Commonwealth Games. A former wrestler himself, Zilberman represented Canada at the 2006 World Championships and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.