For the third straight Olympic Games, an athlete representing Chilliwack will compete at the highest level.
It was announced Friday (June 28) that Zachary Clay will be one of the 11 athletes the Canadian gymnastics team will be taking to Paris for the upcoming Summer Games.
Athletes were judged based on their performances at the National Championships held in Gatineau, QC, earlier this month where the 28-year-old earned himself a silver medal in the pommel horse.
Clay was also a part of the men’s team that took home silver at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile where he won gold in the pommel horse. Prior to that he was also part of the team that secured bronze at the 2019 Games in Peru – the first time a men’s team medalled at the Pan Am games since 1999.
“So incredibly happy to say that I have made the Olympic team,” Clay wrote via his Instagram, following the announcement.
Paris will mark the first time since the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing that a full Canadian men’s artistic gymnastics team will compete in the Olympics. The team officially secured their spot in Paris when they placed fourth in the team qualification at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
Clay trains at the Twisters Gymnastics Club in Abbotsford where he is coached by former Olympians and brothers, Richard and Ken Ikeda. Richard competed at the 1996 Olympics before his brother was present at the 2004 Summer Games.
“My son Nicholas Hajiadem trains with Zach and we are all so proud of him,” Nancy Soerjawan said. “He has a brilliant work ethic, is humble and a great role model for everyone around him.”
Clay joins the likes of Jordyn Huitema (soccer, 2020) and Reece Howden (freestyle skiing, 2022) as Chilliwack’s most recent Olympic athletes.
