Coquitlam’s Dallen Brereton-Stiles was just four-years-old when he won his first race. Now at 15, with approximately 100 trophies under his belt, the Heritage Woods student has dreams of Olympic gold. Out of more than 2,500 young athletes (aged 14 to 25) participating in the 2024 RBC Training Ground, Brereton-Stiles is one of just 30 […]
Coquitlam’s Dallen Brereton-Stiles was just four-years-old when he won his first race. Now at 15, with approximately 100 trophies under his belt, the Heritage Woods student has dreams of Olympic gold.
Out of more than 2,500 young athletes (aged 14 to 25) participating in the 2024 RBC Training Ground, Brereton-Stiles is one of just 30 athletes selected to receive a $7,500 training grant.
“Being an Olympian is the pinnacle for me,” he said. “That’s definitely my dream.”
The RBC Training Ground is a partner of the Canadian Olympic Committee and regional Canadian Sport Institute, which searches across the country every year for the next generation of Olympic talent.
Through a wide range of activities, young athletes test their core, speed, strength, power and endurance – all under the eyes of Olympic scouts from 13 different sports. Physical measurements and competitive history also play a role in the selection process.
Testing began in March, and Brereton-Stiles was one of only 100 athletes invited to the final evaluation in Halifax on Nov. 2. He only learned of winning the grant last week.
Evan MacInnis, RBC Training Ground’s technical director, said the athletes can choose to seek funding in their sport of choice, but can also be selected as candidates for other sports where they are judged to have potential success.
“They all rely on raw athleticism to impress our sport partners and compete for funding,” MacInnis said.
Due his strong results in sprinting and leg strength, Bobsleigh Canada’s scouts endorsed him as a candidate to advance to the next round. But Brereton-Stiles said he is squarely focused on BMX racing, where he has a spot on Cycling Canada’s national team.
Adam Muys, Cycling Canada’s team coach, who sponsored Brereton-Stiles for the finals, said he was not surprised to see how well he performed.
“Dallen has an exceptional work ethic and strives to be better everything he’s doing in training,” Muys said. “His advanced bike skills are suited for the supercross tracks and will help him be successful when moving up to that level.”
Brereton-Stiles is one of Canada’s top BMX racers in his age bracket. Although he missed the national championship last year but won first place the previous two.
While he has always excelled in competition, he said he really started taking his Olympic dream seriously when he turned 13 and could train properly.
And there’s still a lot of training ahead.
Brereton-Stiles needs to wait until he’s 17 to compete on the national junior team, where he would start competing in the world championships. From there, he’ll need to advance to the under-23 team, before advancing to the elite team.
The top 32 athletes on the elite team are selected for the Olympic squad.
“It’s really just training and working my way up the ladder,” Brereton-Stiles said. “When I started winning consistently, I really enjoyed that feeling of pride and success. It started off at the locals, then nationals, and then internationals. My next step is the Olympics.”
Canada’s National Sport Organization administers the funding provided to the young athletes, which can be used for coaching, transportation, travel, equipment, and nutrition.
Since the RBC Training Ground was created in 2016, more than 16,000 athletes have been tested, with more than 3,000 identified for their Olympic potential.
A total of 21 candidates have made it to the three Olympic games to date, collecting fourteen medals, including seven at the most recent Paris 2024 Summer Games.
