Marnie McBean is a motivational speaker, published author, and one of the most decorated Olympians in Canadian history. Rowing for Canada at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, she captured four medals, including three gold, making her one of just two Canadians to be a triple gold medallist at the Summer Games.
After her rowing career, Ms. McBean began a career speaking to corporate groups on high performance and became an athlete mentor, working closely with several Canadian Olympic Teams to mentally prepare athletes. She was Team Canada’s Chef de Mission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, leading Team Canada to one of its best Olympic results ever. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Canadian Sport Institute Ontario and Right to Play (Canada) and has been involved in various social justice-centred causes, including You Can Play, PFLAG, Her Mark, Fast and Female, the Canadian Olympic Committee’s One Team, and the Special Olympics Canada Champions Network.
Ms. McBean is an Officer of the Order of Canada as well as a recipient of the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. In recognition of her exceptional career and exemplary sportsmanship, she was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal by World Rowing and was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canada Sports Hall of Fame, the Row Ontario Hall of Fame, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. She also received the Bonham Centre Award for increasing awareness of sexual diversity, as well as the Bruce Kidd Leadership Award for her leadership and contributions to Canadian athletics.
Ms. McBean earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Western University and holds four honorary doctorates.