Douglas Vandor named Chef du Mission for Team Canada

Sarah Rennie - Two-time Olympian and Dewittville native Douglas Vandor has been named Chef du Mission for the Canadian team during the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. “I feel very honoured to be given this role,” said Vandor. “Being part of a Canadian Team is something very special. And when the whole team gets together (athletes and mission team), the energy and enthusiasm is infectious. It is hard not to be inspired,” he continued, suggesting this new role also presents him with “an opportunity to give back to a community that helped to shape the person I am today.” Vandor competed at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Games in London in men’s lightweight double sculls. He was also an alternate for the lightweight four rowing team during the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. During his storied career he won eight World Cup medals and three world championship medals. Since retiring from the sport of rowing, he has remained involved in sport and with Team Canada. He served as a media attaché for rowing and boxing at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto and was an athletes services officer during the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014. “It's very important for me to still be involved in sport, whether it is at the grassroots level or the elite level,” he explained, noting he feels it is now his turn to help Canada’s next generation of athletes in the same way so many did for him during his career. Now, as Chef du Mission, his job will be to provide leadership to the Canadian Team during the lead up and throughout the 2019 Games in Peru. In doing so, he has decided the best way to approach this important role is with the athletes in mind. “This is their moment and they are the priority. Everything I do will be guided with whatever is in their best interest,” he said. The 2019 Pan Am Games will kick off in Lima on July 26, and will include 424 events before closing on August 11. Around 6,700 athletes will represent 41 countries from the Americas and the Caribbean competing in 39 different sports.