In October, 100 top athletes across Canada were selected to compete at the RBC Training Ground National Final in Ottawa, a nationwide program designed to help discover athletes with Olympic podium potential in sports they may not have considered. Athletes were tested on speed, power, strength, and endurance against sport-specific, high-performance benchmarks. Up for grabs was a chance to secure funding and earn a spot on Team Canada. 

We caught up with six athletes who travelled from Atlantic Canada to compete on the national stage in front of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

The National Final broadcast special aired on December 5th at 10pm EST following the Toronto Raptors game. Miss the show? Watch here. 

Profiles: 

Cory Anne Lapointe 

Originally from Whitby, Ont., the 22-year-old multi-sport athlete and Durham College varsity soccer alum travelled from Halifax to try out speed skating. “It was really cool to meet other athletes from all different sports,” Lapointe said. “I think one hurdle for me is my size, because I’m 5’3” and 130 pounds. Most of the speed skaters are super tall and totally built. So I was a little intimidated by that.” But as a lifelong hockey player, Lapointe caught on pretty quickly and made real strides. 

My goal in life: My dream is definitely to compete at the Olympic Games. A short term goal in sports would be to get into competitive speed skating.

My favourite quote: “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” – Wilma Rudolph

I'd like to be remembered for both my grit and my kindness. These are character traits that I value a lot.

My most memorable mistake: I don't know why we do this, but hockey players keep equipment until we literally can't anymore. A couple years ago, my gloves were just totally torn up. They had holes in all the fingers. So my thumb was literally just out whenever I played hockey. I got hit in the boards and I broke my thumb. I should have gotten new gloves, but I didn't. I went to the bench and I just like, fainted.

My current obsession: Team Sonic Racing on the Xbox One. 

Annah-Bénédicte Mioko Mbongo

This year, the sprint kayaker from Pointe-Claire, Quebec, made the University Worlds Team. “Finally getting to represent Canada was super huge for me,” she said. Years of neck-and-neck races motivated her to keep trying. “It was always super close, but not quite there. And I think that's what kept me going,” Mbongo said. “All those setbacks pushed me to want it even more every year.” At the Training Ground finals, the 21-year-old Dalhousie University student got the chance to show off her skills to national scouts and meet like-minded people. 

My goal in life is to try every day to do my part to make the world a better place through my interactions with people.

The best piece of advice I was ever given: My dad would say, if there's a will, there's a way. I always knew that if I really wanted something, there's a way to get it. Obviously, I'm not promoting anything illegal. So, while staying true and with integrity.

I'd like to be remembered for being honest and treating people with respect. I think they go together.

My biggest setback in sport. Before this year, I had never made a national team. I've never gone to represent Canada. Every year I would train really, really, hard and be really close, but not quite there. But I always found the motivation and the strength to pick it up and try again.

My current obsession is soup. I'm really into soup. I'd say my favorite is broccoli cream. I've been seriously obsessed for at least a year now.

Maddy Cook 

University of New Brunswick track athlete Maddy Cook switched gears and tested her rugby skills. The 18-year-old from Hammonds Plains, N.S., had never played the sport before, so there was a learning curve. “I’ve only watched it once, so I was excited to try it,” she laughed. In preparation for Training Ground, Cook joined a practice with UNB’s rugby team. “It was really confusing at the start, because I had no idea how the game worked. But it was also a lot of fun to try something new,” she said. 

My goal in life is to reach my full potential and see how far I can go. I also want to travel around the world for sports.

The best piece of advice I was ever given: To not compare myself to others. It's one of the things my mom always tells me. I find it especially hard and I’m always reminding myself not to compare myself to others in sports. 

I'd like to be remembered for having a positive attitude and a competitive spirit. 

My most memorable mistake: Comparing myself to others. I had a big issue with that when I was playing high school basketball, and I kind of let sports take me down when I wasn't getting the playing time that I wanted. It really took my confidence away.

My current obsession: Hanging out with my friends at university. I love just hanging around people. We always go to eat meals together, hang out in the lounge, or have a movie night.

Melanie Helfenstein 

Sixteen-year-old Melanie Helfenstein absolutely loved competing at Training Ground. “I was put in a big pool of elite athletes and they all had the same mindset and goals as me,” she said. “So it was really fantastic.” Even though most people were older than her, Helfenstein says it was a welcoming environment. The former soccer player had to switch sports due to injuries, and rowing was a good fit. Helfenstein looks forward to graduating from Charles P. Allen High School in Halifax and has her sights set on west coast universities.

My goal in life is to get a scholarship for school, that is where I'm aiming right now. And this is absolutely unrealistic, but I would like to get an Olympic gold medal. It's very ambitious for a 16 year old.

The best piece of advice I was ever given: Every time we were in the weight room my soccer coach would say, if your legs aren't shaking, and if you aren't absolutely dead by the end of your last rep, you didn't work hard enough. To me, that meant leaving it all out on the field.

I'd like to be remembered for: I have two younger sisters and I know they look up to me. So I would like to set a very hardworking standard and give it my all, all the time. I want them to follow that because I want them to achieve the best that they can, too. 

My biggest setback: I've had a few pretty traumatic injuries. Because of that, I had to quit soccer, which was the absolute love of my life at the time. 

My current obsession: I'm currently doing the IB program and I would like to come out of it alive and with good grades.

Shilo Chislett 

Shilo Chislett, 18, left small town Newfoundland to play softball for the University of Toronto, making her the first person to make the team from that province. “It feels great representing Newfoundland and Atlantic Canada in general,” she said. The second year microbiology and chemistry student says balancing sports and schoolwork is difficult, so she takes much-needed breaks when her schedule allows. At the Training Ground, she performed well on the isometric pull to measure strength. “I’m not sure what sport they were looking for,” she said. “But it could have been a variety.” 

My goal in life is to travel and see as much of the world as I can. I'm very thankful my family and sports have provided me with so many opportunities to explore more parts of the world. I plan to continue that.

The best piece of advice I was ever given: To train mentally, just as much as I train physically. It's such an important aspect and I think most sports are largely a mental game. It's something that you consistently have to work on.

I'd like to be remembered for being a good friend, daughter, sister, teammate. Sports and academics are great, of course, but I just really want to be remembered for being a genuinely good person.

My most memorable mistake: I don't think I've ever really made mistakes that have really affected the whole outcome of the game. Certain little things get frustrating, I guess. Like, you're making a really good play in the field, but then you make a bad throw.

My current obsession is the show Supernatural. It's one of my favorites. I watch it all the time, especially when I need downtime from schoolwork.

Craig Johnson

This summer, Craig Johnson of the Senobe Aquatic Club in Dartmouth brought home gold after winning big at the Canada Games. The 19-year-old sprint kayaker has his sights set on the Olympic Games. At the Training Ground, he tried exercises outside his comfort zone, like the long jump. “I don’t normally jump in my sport,” he laughed. Other exercises, like the six-second bike interval and sprinting, were well within his wheelhouse. “We run in the winter because we can't paddle on the lake.” Despite feeling a bit under the weather, he said it was an excellent experience.

My goal in life: I'd love to get out there and represent my country, my hometown, and my club at the Olympics.

The best piece of advice I was ever given: My coaches always told me to not stop until the race is over. You don't know the outcome until everything's said and done, so you can't give up early.

I'd like to be remembered for my teamwork and leadership. Results are one thing, but at the end of the day, I want people to think I'm a good team leader and sportsman-like. Obviously, going down in history as one of the best canoe kayak guys would be incredible, too. 

My most memorable mistake: When I was 14, me and my K2 partner, James, were going up to the line to race our final for the Peewee Bantam Championships. We were a little young and naive. We got to the line and they said we had the wrong boat number and we couldn’t race.

My current obsession is winning with my teammates. There's a certain feeling you get when you win a race, and winning with a teammate is probably the best experience you can get. 

Atlantic athlete Craig Johnson is one of the 30 athletes receiving funding through the RBC Training Ground program this year. 

Atlantic athletes who attended the RBC Training Ground Top 100 final but were not reachable: 

Alex Erith-Ellwood

Eli Nowlan