On Sunday, October 26, 2008 the Coaches Association of Ontario hosted Coach Reflections On Beijing where close to 100 coaches gathered at the base of the CN Tower in Toronto to listen to four Canadian Coaches share their experiences of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
Thanks to the Coaches of Canada, we were able to capture highlights from their interviews. CAO Board Member, Ann Doggett was on hand to interview Joel Filliol, Mike Spracklen and Pierre Lafontaine. To hear an audio of each of the interviews, click on the Play icon below each biography.
Joel was the Head Coach for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Team where he led the Canadian team toward achieving their two major performance objectives; qualifying a full team of 3 men and 3 women, and achieving a Silver Medal performance, as Simon Whitfield's personal coach. He currently serves as the Senior High Performance Coach at Triathlon Canada’s National Triathlon Centre in Victoria. Joel has coached at two Commonwealth Games 
Pierre Lafontaine, coaching career spans two continents, where he has held Head Coach positions in Canada, the U.S and Australia over three decades. In 2005, at one of its lowest points, Pierre joined Swimming Canada as CEO to turn things around. He proved he is an inspiring leader with a significant improvement with the performance of the Canadian team in Beijing. Pierre has contributed to the advancement and success of swimming throughout his coaching profession. As Head Coach at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Pierre led 4 swimmers to podium results at the 2004 Olympics. Previously, as Head Coach of the Phoenix Swim Club in Arizona, he led his swimmers to 8 medal victories at the 2000
Mike Spracklen, one of the world’s most respected rowing coaches, has coached at the national level in Canada, the U.S. and his native Great Britain. Most recently, the Canadian men’s eight won gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing dominating the field of contenders at the Shunyi Olympic rowing park. He has led the Canadian men's eight to wins at the World Championships (2002, 2003 and 2007) and was named 2002 FISA Coach of the Year. In the early 1990s, Spracklen also coached the Canadian men's eight to a gold at the 1992 Olympics and was Silken Laumann's coach for both the 1992 and the 1996 Olympics.
