Queen’s Engineering alumna Anne Fergusson represented Team Canada in the sitting volleyball event at the recent Tokyo Paralympic Games, which took place Aug. 24 through Sept. 5.
Fergusson, who graduated from Mechanical Engineering in 2017 before earning a Graduate Diploma in the Smith School of Business, has been on the Canadian women’s sitting volleyball team since 2013 and plays the attacker position.
The Canadian women's sitting volleyball team faced tough competition at the Games but improved upon their Rio 2016 Paralympic showing, placing fourth at the Tokyo 2020 games after competing in the bronze medal match against Brazil.
In 2015, her team attended the Parapan American Games, earning a bronze medal, making history as the first Canadian sitting volleyball team to qualify for a Paralympic Games. At the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, the women’s sitting volleyball team placed seventh. The team secured a spot in the 2020 Paralympic Games by winning gold at the World ParaVolley final in Halifax, securing Fergusson’s Paralympic debut.
Other notable Queen’s alumni at the Games include:
Former Gaels track and field star Stef Reid MBE, Artsci’06, placed fourth in the Women's long jump T64 competition, representing Team Great Britain. Reid competed for Queen’s Gaels in Track and Field for three seasons and won the OUA Community Service Medal in 2006. Born in New Zealand to British parents, Reid moved to Toronto at age four. She originally competed for Team Canada at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, where she won bronze in the T44 200m, but made the switch and started representing Team Great Britain at the 2012 London Games, where she won silver in T44 long jump. Reid added another silver medal to her collection at Rio 2016 Games, once again in the T44 long jump competition.
Benoit Huot, CM CQ, MBA’20, attended the Tokyo 2020 Games as a special onsite analyst for the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Huot is a 20-time Paralympic medalist in para swimming, with nine gold medals to his name. He has competed in five Paralympic Games (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016).
This article appeared in its original form on the Queen’s Alumni website.