Rob Brodie
She has made it all the way from small-town Alberta to the biggest stage in sport.
Perhaps she'll even become one of Canada's golden girls at next month's Athens Olympics.
But when Sherraine MacKay (nee Schalm) traces the path that has taken her to the pinnacle of fencing, she's quick to point to her years in Ottawa - and with the University of Ottawa's Excalibur Fencing Club in particular - as a vital part of her journey.
“I feel very privileged to have grown up in the fencing world with those who coach and run the (Excalibur) club,” said MacKay, 29, who made her Olympic debut four years ago in Sydney (she finished 17th in women's epee). “Manuel Guittet, Paul ApSimon and all of those men and women made my seven years in Ottawa crucial to my development as an Olympic athlete.”
Though her fencing roots go all the way back to her home town of Brooks, Alta., it was MacKay's decision to move to Ottawa and work with Guittet that accelerated her progress. Provincial and national university titles soon followed, and it wasn't long before MacKay began making her mark on the world stage.
With 13 World Cup medals - five of them gold - now on her résumé, MacKay has thrust herself among fencing's elite, and has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the world.
All of which makes her a Canadian athlete to watch in Athens, though she tries to play down any talk of her being a medal contender.
“If I'm thinking about the podium, I'm not thinking about the person in front of me trying to poke me,” she said. “I have to think objectively about my opponent.”
Away from the piste, MacKay continues to use the skills she obtained while earning an honours English literature degree from the University of Ottawa. Her witty take on life as an amateur athlete living in Paris - she and husband Geordie moved there in 2001 so Sherraine could train alongside the world's best - made its way to CBC Radio, where her Letters From Paris series became a hit with listeners.
MacKay admits writing “has been a passion of mine” fuelled during a musical criticism class during her final year of university. She distinctly remembers the encouraging words of Prof. Paul Merkley after he read one of her reviews during a class.
“He told me it was very good and that I should consider being a writer,” said MacKay, whose immediate response was “who knows me and who would take my stuff seriously?”
Fitzhenry & Whiteside, for one. The Toronto publishing house, offered MacKay a book contract based on her journals, and it's expected to be released in the fall.
Teaching also helps pay the bills. Obtaining her certificate wasn't easy - she entered the Teacher Education Program the same month the Sydney Olympics were held.
“I almost didn't get accepted because they realized I would miss nearly a month of classes,” she said. “But the (Faculty of Education) let me finish my degree that year. That helped me when I moved to Europe … I was able to teach in a Parisian high school and also give private lessons, which helped me survive financially.”
