Faster, Higher, Stronger… Resist

Posted on February 12, 2026 by | Leave a comment

{Enjoy this third part in our Winter Olympic Series, written by William Bridel!}

In the lead-up to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, held in Sochi, Russia, much attention was turned to that country’s anti-LGBTQ laws, with questions of athlete, support team, media, and fan safety brought to the forefront. And rightly so. In 2013, CTV quoted a high-ranking member of the Russian government who had stated there would be “consequences for anyone who publicly advocates homosexuality” during the Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued statements assuring athletes’ safety while reminding them that political protests are prohibited under the IOC Charter, with ramifications for those who do not abide by it. There were calls to boycott the Games or move them to a different location. However, the Games went ahead as planned. This all drove one Calgary athlete to come out publicly, with others following.

Anastasia Bucsis, a long track speedskater, came out as lesbian in the Globe and Mail on September 3, 2013—primarily to make a powerful statement about queer rights ahead of the Sochi Olympics. As Bucsis noted, “I could never promote that message of concealing who you are with all of this going on in Russia… I’m kind of happy that I did it on my own terms” (Cryderman, 2013).

Bucsis competing in a long track speed skating event. This image was retrieved from the Canadian Olympic Committee website and is credited to AP Photo/Patrick Semansky.

Having come out to family, friends, and within the sport in the couple of years prior, Bucsis has commented that everyone, including teammates, sponsors, and coaches, was supportive; she has recognized, however, that not everyone had the same support, knowing many athletes who left sport due to their sexuality and non-supportive environments (Silver, 2021). Bucsis was the only North American athlete to be openly queer and competing at the 2014 Games. She retired from speed skating in 2017 but has since had a very successful career in broadcasting: Bucsis is serving as the host of CBC’s prime-time show during its coverage of the 2026 Games, a role she also held two years ago during the Paris Olympics.

Another Calgarian who competed in Sochi, John Fennell, came out publicly following his participation in the 2014 Games. I was working in the United States at the time, but friends told me about the story as they knew I was researching 2SLGBTQIA+ participation in Canadian sport. I remember being somewhat in awe as it was still rare for elite athletes to be out publicly, but also because of his age—Fennell was just shy of his 19th birthday when he told Vicky Hall of the Calgary Herald that he wanted the world to know he was gay.

John Fennell competed in luge at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. This photo is from John’s personal collection.

For those not familiar with luge, athletes hurl down a steep and windy ice track, feet first, on a relatively tiny sled. Not for the faint of heart to say the very least, but imagine facing that task in a country where you feel unsafe because of your sexuality. In an interview and follow-up personal communication, Fennell reflected on his experience in Sochi:

“I had been struggling with my sexuality leading up to the Games. I had not come out at all in my personal life and the discourse around LGBTQ+ rights before the Olympics in Russia began to weigh on me. When I arrived at the Olympic Village, I felt a strong sense of discomfort and that I did not belong there. This pressure took me out of the moment and added so much anxiety. After my teammates finished competing, I started speaking with them openly about how I was feeling. During my time in Sochi, I connected with other athletes and staff who had dealt with similar experiences. I started to build a safety net of people around me in Russia, which helped me feel more accepted in that environment. I will not lie, Russia felt unwelcoming to me. At the same time, that feeling pushed me to realize that our sport organizations should be doing more for all athletes—especially during that time in high performance Sport. That realization was profound. I remember thinking, ‘If I could come out in an environment like Sochi, what was stopping me from doing so in Calgary?’”

Fennell took the courage he found in Russia and began coming out to family and close friends here at home. He then took it to the next level by telling the world his story in the Herald, just three months after the end of the Games. When I asked Fennell why it was important for him to come out publicly, he had this to say:

“I wanted other athletes to know. Look, you might feel like you’re alone and you might feel like this is the end of the world, but there’s so many people who are dealing with this and, you know, everyone has a place in sport.”

He told me recently that that quote is just as true today.

Fennell continued to compete after coming out, retiring from elite competition in 2018. He has continued to champion 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion in sport through public speaking, appearances, and involvement in initiatives such as the Canadian Olympic Committee’s #OneTeam campaign, launched in June 2015 to promote and improve queer inclusion in sport.

This video, produced by the COC, launched the #OneTeam campaign in 2015.

Eric Mitchell, who was born and raised in Calgary, didn’t compete at the Sochi Games. Four years prior, however, Mitchell—at just 17 years of age—had qualified for the Vancouver Games in ski jumping. His ascent into the upper echelons of the sport was rapid; he was really just three years out of the developmental levels of the sport when he earned his Olympic spot. Mitchell was focused on qualifying for the Sochi Games but suffered a severe concussion in August 2013. While he was able to return to training and to competition—he won the men’s event at the Canadian ski jumping championships that year—his return was too late to qualify for Sochi. Mitchell retired and focused on his studies at the University of Calgary. A conversation with Fennell, however, would draw Mitchell back into sport:

“John told me how alone and terrible he felt being in a country that put a spotlight on how it wasn’t OK to be gay in Russia. And I felt that was so wrong. How could that be? My Olympic experience was so positive, and I think it should be for everybody. What I heard from him sickened me. It pushed me to decide that this has to change. I want to affect this change.” (Zeigler, 2015)

This action shot of Eric Mitchell was retrieved from the Canadian Olympic Committee website.

Having kept his sexuality hidden from family, friends, and within sport—the last because of homophobia often experienced in the form of gay “jokes” made by coaches and other athletes—Mitchell began to come out. He recognized he had a role to play in improving sport for other queer athletes and signed on to be a #OneTeam ambassador, a founding ambassador, in fact, as was Bucsis. In a post written for the COC and published online during Calgary’s 2015 Pride celebrations, Mitchell made it clear why he had come out publicly and gotten so involved with the COC campaign:

“Many young LGBTQ athletes still do not feel welcome within the sporting system and that is why this initiative is so important. Sport has always been able to bring people together and the #OneTeam program has created a framework of resources that will help educate everyone on how to be a better ally and help to make our country more inclusive.”

There is still a lot of work to be done in terms of the safe and meaningful inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ people in sport, in all roles—athlete, coach, official, administrator, media, fan. But these three queer Olympians from Calgary have certainly made a difference within sport by sharing their stories publicly and leading advocacy initiatives, while also becoming part of Calgary’s queer history.

Bucsis. Fennell. Mitchell. Olympians. Barrier breakers. Advocates. Calgarians.

{WB}

Sources

Cryderman, K. (2013, September 3). Olympic speed skater Anastasia Bucsis “so proud to be gay.” The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/olympic-speed-skater-anastasia-bucsis-so-proud-to-be-gay/article14078121/

CTV British Columbia. (2013, August 2). Calls for Olympic boycott after Russia pledges to enforce anti-gay law. CTV British Columbia. https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/calls-for-olympic-boycott-after-russia-pledges-to-enforce-anti-gay-law/

Hall, V. (2014, May 27). Calgary Olympian finds three words liberating: “I am gay.” Calgary Herald. https://calgaryherald.com/sports/calgary-olympian-finds-three-words-liberating-i-am-gay

Mitchell, E. (2015, September 4). Mitchell: Reflections on my hometown ahead of Calgary Pride. https://olympic.ca/2015/09/04/mitchell-reflecting-on-my-hometown-ahead-of-calgary-pride/

Silver, E. (2021). Proud to play: Canadian LGBTQ+ athletes who made history. Lorimer.

Zeigler, C. (2015). How this gay Olympic ski jumper did the impossible. Outsports. https://www.outsports.com/2015/7/8/8910379/eric-mitchell-gay-canadian-olympic-skier/

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Hurtling Headfirst Down Mountains and Into the History Books

Posted on February 5, 2026 by | 1 comment

{Welcome to part two in our Winter Olympic Series, written by William Bridel!}

I am frequently reminded of Dr. Lindsay Alcock’s humility, despite an incredible athletic career and her many accomplishments in other spheres of life. Just over a year ago, I was interviewing Lindsay for my project exploring the role of sport in Calgary’s queer history, and while we’d known each other since 2014 (not long after I moved to the city, we were both on a panel addressing homophobia in sport and became friends), I found myself learning more and more about her that day. I am proud to share part of her story here.

Born in Bearspaw, Alberta, in 1977, Alcock’s family relocated to Cochrane soon after. With limited sports opportunities for girls at the time, Alcock played soccer on boys’ teams and participated in many school sports. She and her family were also avid downhill skiers, though—as she was quick to point out—only recreationally. Still, the 1988 Olympic Winter Games left an indelible mark on Alcock, as she and her family took in many of the events. As a university student, Alcock joined the University of Calgary’s track and field team as a sprinter and also began working at Canada Olympic Park during the summers—an experience that would change her athletic trajectory.

“I had a tourist ask me one day: ‘Why don’t you do any of these sports?’ I didn’t really have a good answer. So, I thought, well, if anything, I can maybe help my tours by telling them exactly what it feels like to go headfirst on a sled down an ice track, an ice chute. I toyed between ski jumping and doing skeleton. And ultimately skeleton was the most kamikaze in my mind. So based on that tourist’s feedback, I decided to sign up and pay $50 to take a ‘discover skeleton’ class. This would’ve been in the fall of 1998.”

Alcock competing at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Photo retrieved from the Canadian Olympic Committee website.

Rising through the Canadian skeleton ranks quickly, within two years of that intro-to-skeleton experience, Alcock qualified to represent Canada on the America’s Cup and then the World Cup teams. While competing internationally, Alcock secured enough top six placements in 2001-2002 that she qualified for her first of two Olympic Winter Games, just four years after being introduced to the sport! At the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, she finished in sixth place. In the 2003-2004 season, Alcock won the overall Women’s Skeleton World Cup title. She continued to train, with eyes set on the 2006 Olympics, which were being held in Italy.

In the late 1990s, Alcock began coming out to family and friends, and in the early 2000s to teammates and others within the sport, and later more publicly. This made her one of only a few queer Canadian athletes actively competing in elite sport while open about their sexuality; Nancy Drolet, a national team ice hockey standout, and wheelchair basketball star Danielle Peers were others.[1] Alcock describes the support she received from the vast majority of teammates in a positive way. For example, she noted that she would bring the boxset of The L Word on tour, and some of her teammates would sit down and watch episodes with her. They’d also take her, when feasible, to queer villages in various cities on the tour. Alcock also began training and racing with a Pride sticker on her sled, visible to teammates, competitors, spectators, and television cameras. At the same time, she did experience indirect and direct homophobia while on the circuit, and so was grateful for the solidarity experienced with the majority. This allowed her to remain steadfast in being her authentic self after she had come out.

There were still challenges, however. Alcock shared one story about attaining a sponsorship deal—a rarity for skeleton and for women athletes at the time—with a local company:

“I remember signing the contract for this sponsorship, which was a really big deal. It was quite a bit of money. And it was meaningful for my everyday life. I literally had the pen in hand and then I finally just…I put it down and I said, ‘you just need to know, I’m not gonna hide this. I’m a lesbian. I’m in a relationship with a woman. Is that gonna be a problem?’ And he said, ‘No. Are you gonna sign or what?’”

While it was a positive experience of allyship in that moment, not long after signing on, Alcock, as one of their sponsored athletes, had to participate in an event organized by the company.

“I had to sit beside Bishop Frederick Henry. It was a golf tournament, and they put me in the same golf cart with him. For 18 holes, I had to sit beside him! And I was like, ‘how did they not know that?’ That’s not okay.”

{For context, Bishop Henry had a long and public history of opposing 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, including same-sex marriage in the early 2000s and, more recently, gay-straight alliances in schools and, more generally, the provincial NDP’s gender and sexual diversity inclusion guidelines implemented when they were in power.}

Alcock qualified for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Based on her performances in the years leading to those Games, including a silver medal at the 2004 World Championships, Alcock was considered a medal favourite but, in her own words, the Olympics didn’t go nearly as well as she hoped. She finished 10th. The disappointment of the finish wasn’t the only thing Alcock was dealing with; the following scenario reflects the still-pervasive heteronormativity in high-performance sport:

“One story I tell quite often is about what happened at the finish line in Torino [2006 Olympic Winter Games]. When I finished the race, I didn’t perform the way I had expected of myself. My wife was at the finish line, and I remember at that moment thinking, ‘So do I kiss her? Do I hug her? Do I… The camera’s on. I can feel it. I can feel it.’ It was burning into me. ‘What do I do?’ And I’m dealing with being really upset with how I did at this event. But I don’t wanna show shame. Like, I’m proud of who I am, and of this marriage, you know? And, so, the fact that I was thinking about that at the Olympic finish line was ridiculous. And I honestly don’t know what I did. I couldn’t tell you now how that went. It’s a total blur.”

Alcock would continue to compete in skeleton for two more years, ultimately retiring in 2008 to pursue a chiropractic degree in California. She once again resides in Calgary with her wife, Heather. Reflecting on her incredible athletic career, Alcock had this to say:

I’m most proud of how I was able to continue competing and to be who I was. It was quite a journey to get there.

Dr. Lindsay Alcock. Olympian. World Champion. Trailblazer. Calgarian.

{WB}

[1] This statement reflects what I’ve been able to uncover in my research to date, based on media stories and personal communications. I’m happy to be corrected if others know differently!

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From the Calgary Winter Club to Olympic Ice

Posted on January 29, 2026 by | 1 comment

{This is part one in our Winter Olympic Series, written by William Bridel. Enjoy!}

Brian James Pockar was born in Calgary on October 27, 1959. He began skating as a young boy at the Calgary Winter Club. According to Skate Guard, a figure skating history blog, in his early days on Winter Club ice, a coach, Winnie Silverthorne, approached Pockar’s parents after noticing his “daredevil-ness” and natural athleticism. While initially interested in ice hockey, Pockar chose to focus on figure skating and quickly rose through the competitive ranks within Canada.

At the age of 12, Pockar competed at his first national championships. Four years later, he won bronze at the 1976 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and two years after that, became the national men’s champion of Canada for the first time. At the completion of his amateur competitive career, Pockar was a three-time national champion. He had also won several international medals, most notably the bronze at the 1982 World Figure Skating Championships. Pockar’s third-place finish in 1982 launched a 14-year medal-winning streak by Canadians in the men’s event at the global competition.

Pockar competing at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. Photo retrieved from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s website.

Pockar was the lone Canadian entry in the men’s event at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, a place he earned having won his third national title earlier that year. He finished 12th in all portions of the Olympic competition, an event won by the incomparable Robin Cousins of Great Britain. Pockar remains the last male from Calgary to compete in the Olympic Winter Games in figure skating. Pockar was also involved in the 1988 Calgary Olympics, credited as the artistic director of figure skating performances in the Closing Ceremonies.

As a young boy in the sport at the time of Pockar’s greatest successes, Brian was my idol. I marvelled at his technical abilities, but even more so, I loved his musicality, his style, his flair. I was nine when he finished third at the 1982 World Championships. I could execute his entire medal-winning performance in the basement of my family home in my sock-feet. The many triples he completed in his program? Well, those were only imagined in my rendition…but I knew the order of elements by memory and believed I “was” Brian Pockar in those moments. I also most certainly had a crush on him. He was a beautiful man. As Ryan Stevens of Skate Guard described him, he was “like the romantic lead in a silent movie.”

Frequently described as a private person, Pockar never declared his sexuality publicly, which was not unusual in the 1970s and ‘80s in sport generally, and in figure skating specifically. Only Great Britain’s John Curry, the 1976 Olympic champion in the men’s event, had discussed his sexuality in mainstream media at the time. According to sociologist and historian Dr. Mary Louise Adams, the first time Pockar’s sexuality was likely specifically mentioned publicly was in a media story published in 1998 about Brian Orser, another great Canadian figure skater. Orser was quoted as saying he was concerned about his own sexuality impacting professional opportunities in and outside of skating and used Pockar as an example. According to Orser, Pockar was fired from his broadcasting position with CTV—a role he held for several years after he retired from amateur competition—when network executives learned he was gay.

Pockar died of AIDS-related illness in Calgary on April 28, 1992. He was 32 years old. According to a statement issued by a family friend at the time of his passing, “Brian wanted to be remembered for his accomplishments in life and not for the cause of his death” (Maki & Toneguzzi, 1992, p. D1). Honouring that statement here, in addition to his many achievements in the sport noted above, Pockar is also credited with landing the first-ever one-foot triple Salchow/double flip combination in international competition—which is wildly difficult! He was inducted into the Alberta Sport Hall of Fame in 1989 and posthumously into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2012. Per one of Pockar’s final wishes, a bursary was established in his name to help support young male figure skaters in the province—a bursary still given out annually.

Brian Pockar: Olympian. World medalist. Choreographer. Broadcaster. Calgarian.

{WB}

Sources

Adams, M. L. (2011). Artistic impressions: Figure skating, masculinity, and the limits of sport. University of Toronto Press.

Skate Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut. (n.d.). About: Athlete Awards. https://skateabnwtnun.ca/about/awards-2/athlete-awards-athlete-funding/

Maki, A., & Toneguzzi, M. (1992, April 30). Friends mourn death of Pockar. Calgary Herald, D1.

Stevens, R. (n.d.) Brian Pockar. Skate Guard: Figure Skating History Blog. https://www.skateguardblog.com/p/brian-pockar.html?m=0

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