Dustin Heise 0:00

Oh my gosh, such a good day today and time together with Suzanne Whirley. Really appreciate you being here. Today's guest is Suzanne Whirley, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist, two-time Olympian and president of Athletes Ken. After an accomplished rowing career representing Canada on the world stage, she now helps champion athletes' voices while leading communications at Rowing Canada Avron. Welcome, Suzanne. Thanks for taking some time with me today.

Susanne Wereley 0:25

Yeah, thank you. I'm excited to chat.

Dustin Heise 0:27

Yeah, it'll be awesome. Well, just being able to get some time scheduled and in the books, it's never easy with busy schedules and obviously lots of moving parts here in Canada with incredible earthbound opportunity in front of us. For you, winning Olympic gold is a dream for so many athletes. Looking back, you know, what defining moment made you believe you and your crew were capable of achieving this?

Susanne Wereley 0:49

It's actually a little bit of a funny story. Obviously, the games got delayed from 2020 to 2021. And so we'd been sort of in the heat of selection and then everything got shut down. And so once we came back and we started sort of rebuilding and putting everything back together, and the women's eight eventually was able to sit down during COVID and really define like our goals and what we thought we were capable of, what we could control. And I think we always, you know, thought we had the pot like the capability to do something special, but had never really seen that like glimmer. And we had this one workout, like we'd COVID had kind of been going on for a while that we were allowed to now train as an eight. And we had this brutal workout. Our coach made us do 16 by 500 meters um on and off. And so it essentially ends up being about 90 seconds on, 90 seconds off. And we didn't know how many we were doing at the time. And we had to hold essentially like faster than race pace for all of them and not see like a fly and die, essentially. And so we finished the workout, actually managed to hold the pace we were supposed to hold the whole time. We're sitting on the dock and it was a wicked hot day, and it's dead silent. And one of our teammates just goes, Guys, I think we're fast. And it was that like first moment where we were like, Oh wow, like maybe we actually do have the speed to be able to do this. Like we might really be able to make something happen here. And so it was kind of funny to come together in that moment and be like, oh wow, like we are capable of something special.

Dustin Heise 2:21

That's incredible. Whereabouts did this happen? Like, was this down in Victoria in your your home training?

Susanne Wereley 2:27

This was actually on Shaanigan Lake because we wanted to have the nice long seven-kilometer stretch to be able to do like sort of without having to turn and maximize the short recovery that we did have on these pieces.

Dustin Heise 2:39

That's so cool. Hey, now you experienced the highs of Olympic victory, and you've also experienced the disappointing of falling, you know, short in Rio. You know, how did those two moments shape the leader that you are today, Suzanne?

Susanne Wereley 2:52

Yeah, looking back on Rio, anyone else would say, like, oh, fifth in the world is an amazing accomplishment. But after having stood on all the international podiums that we competed in except for Rio and the World Cup right before it, we definitely were left wanting more. I think even like result aside, we didn't feel like we had put forward the best race that we could have. And so I think like reflecting on it as an athlete on the outside, the first thing I thought of when I crossed the finish line was, oh shoot, now I have to do this again. Like I just knew there was more there for me. Yeah. Yeah. And so I think as I got further away from it, I realized that I rested a lot of my like feeling of accomplishment and success and happiness on a result versus you know what I did on the inside or what we did internally as a boat. And so I think having had that experience in Rio going into Tokyo, I was like, you know, we can't control what the boats and the crews around us are gonna do or what countries are doing for training. And so we have to do what we can do best, and then no matter where that puts us against everyone else in the world, be happy with our performance. So we decided as a crew that we were gonna redefine excellence as a women's eight in Canada, um, because that was what we could control. And so I think that from Rio to Tokyo, I really realized that I can't rest what my overall understanding and feeling of a quadrennial is on a result.

Dustin Heise 4:22

That's so good. I'm thinking in real time of how true that is to both the boardroom, the business leadership, the athletic leadership for coaches, you know, the whole nine yards of you know, how much sport teaches us. And now I think that you're continuing to grow in your leadership and governance because, you know, as the president of athletes can, you know, you're now advocating for athletes, you know, beyond competition. How has your perspective on leadership changed since stepping out of the boat, but now into the boardroom and as chair of athletes Ken?

Susanne Wereley 4:53

Yeah, I think it's made me look at experiences that are bigger than my own, obviously. And I think um there's been some eye-opening moments of realizing how lucky that I had it, and also realizing that there's a lot of similarities of what people have experienced, and that I'm in a really special and unique position to be able to help amplify athlete voices and make sure that everything that we're involved in can be athlete sort of central around that voice. And it's definitely been a unique opportunity and challenge at points to think, okay, how can I make sure this is best for the athletes in the room and like challenge my mind to think about where we would best fit in? Is this organization thinking about us as well? Are they actually doing what that means in reality? Like they're saying they're athlete central, they're bringing the athletes into the room, but then are they thinking about you know accessibility for people being there? Like how timing for training, like the theory versus the inaction as well. And so it's been a pretty cool opportunity to be able to be sort of up front and at the forefront of this strong athlete push that's going on right now.

Dustin Heise 6:03

How have you been able to comprehend that in real time to know that in your role you're doing that, but also as an organization, you're able to do that? I love that because we all strive to be athlete center and you'll want to continue to make sure that we're supporting that. And you're also taking in a lot of perspective in real time. Is it just that you're an excellent listener and that the people you've surrounded yourself with are also excellent listeners? And then how you turn the listening into execution as well.

Susanne Wereley 6:35

I think it's a little bit of all of it. I've always been one of those people that for whatever reason people open up to. Um, I don't know if I just had like, you know, I'm a safe space like on my forehead or something, but people tend to.

Dustin Heise 6:48

We also have a great demeanor. You have a really nice demeanor. I think that's a huge thing. Yeah.

Susanne Wereley 6:52

I appreciate that. I do I want to make people feel safe and comfortable and that they could share with me. And I think that I do my best to listen and truly hear what someone's saying and be able to reframe if needed to help other people understand as well. But I think that a lot of it comes from listening and then a lot of comes from leaning on the resources that I have when I don't know everything for the like to have my own answer. Yeah, it's never gonna be perfect. And so I think a big thing that I've learned, especially in sport, and being able to bring that now into this role, is that I won't always have all the answers. There'll always be someone smarter than me in the room, which is cool. It means that I can continue to reach to get smarter too. And using those resources and leaning on my team for collaboration has, I think, been a really big part of it.

Dustin Heise 7:39

In your day-to-day and also with your athlete can had on either perspective, you know, team sport obviously demands building of trust. You obviously built that with your your team, obviously succeeded in that. You know, how you know has that ability to build team and trust, you know, enabled you to create the culture that you continue to surround yourself with, both at Athletes Can or in your day-to-day business?

Susanne Wereley 8:03

I think a a biggest thing for me is communication. I know that might sound cliche, but a lot of people say it and don't actually do it. And so with Athletes Can, like we're our team of staff and board are in communication like almost every day, whether it's just a like, hey, I saw this news article or, you know, I spoke to this athlete. We try to really just stay looped in, um, given that it's mainly virtual. Like we don't really have like a there's not an office that we're all sitting and we're all across Canada, which is wonderful. But then you have to put that work in to make sure that you still feel like a team, despite being far away. So I think that being able to have that online connection and communication has been a big thing. And so we just try to keep it easy and keep it flowing. And it's been really similar with like my day job with Rowing Canada. I do my best to stay looped in with all of my colleagues and in communications, like it is literally what I have to do. Like I have to know what's going on. So it's pretty cool to be able to have that opportunity to have hands in all the pots and all the fire. And so staying connected to the national team and what the club level athletes and and clubs are doing. So communication and connection has just been a really big focus that I've tried to continue on from the boat to the business.

Dustin Heise 9:20

It's really nice when sports can continue to have alumni be able to continue career within that particular sport. Obviously, it creates a a really natural opportunity for both the the organization and yourself, but which kind of leads into the next question around, you know, what lessons from your high performance journey have you been able to rely on the most, you know, within this professional space that you now are are operating in day to day? And I would imagine you have, you know, obviously some some pretty solid inns because you get it at all levels. And at the same time, you know, really thinking that you've in order to have been an Olympic gold medalist, you're able to also tap into another gear that others need to continue to learn and observe from on your side. So I'm gonna skip it over to you.

Susanne Wereley 10:05

I think a big thing for me has been feedback. I know that in the rowing world and even just in the sport world, like I I tried really hard to always point the finger at myself before pointing it at someone else that something was going on. It was a kind of like, okay, you know, a boat's not feeling great, or we're having a rough practice. Like, what am I doing that can make a difference? Or is there something that like I'm doing right now that maybe I can change before I blame someone else for what could be going on? And so being an athlete has forced me to be really open and okay with feedback, whether it's positive or negative. And so I really thrive on feedback. I think that having that sort of like direct purpose and understanding of what's gone wrong and what's gone well, and then being able to kind of do like a good, better, how like what went well, what could be better, and how is it gonna be better so that it's always solution oriented is a really big thing.

Dustin Heise 10:56

So I love that growth mentality, by the way.

Susanne Wereley 11:00

Yeah, thank you. It's it's really it can be hard, but I think that sometimes you get feedback you don't want, but it's still useful and still helpful.

Dustin Heise 11:08

So breakfast of champions though, isn't it?

Susanne Wereley 11:11

Yeah. I think it's just necessary. Like there's always gonna be something you can do better, even if you are the champion. So like looking at our race, we had our five-year reunion or like anniversary of it just uh a couple weeks ago, and we watched our race and all got together on on Zoom, and we were joking, we're like, Oh, I'm still hanging at the catch, or I'm still like a little bit late on that finish, and it's like didn't, you know, there's always gonna be something. It worked out. We were the best crew on the day, but we weren't perfect.

Dustin Heise 11:38

So that's so good. That's so awesome that you're able to tap into that, but also just always reflecting and looking in the mirror first and very aligned on that front. You know, if you could change one thing about the athlete experience in Canada, you know, what would you create and you know the biggest long-term impact for future generations? What would that be?

Susanne Wereley 11:57

Wow, it's a big question.

Dustin Heise 11:58

Um just easy shifting gears to, you know, something incredibly meaningful like that.

Susanne Wereley 12:05

Yeah, no, it's uh I think there's the obvious one, which would be I think financial, which has been great to see what you know, the most recent investment that has happened for sport. But I think aside from that, I think just making sure that there's opportunity and so that an athlete, like as a young athlete, knows what their potential pathway in sport could be if they're interested in staying in sport. And so I think that when I was a young athlete, we tried all the sports as kids golf, tennis, swimming, basketball, volleyball. And I wasn't stellar at any of them, but even though I'm tall. And so finally finding rowing was really cool. And then I didn't, I didn't know what opportunities I could actually have in rowing. They were obviously there, but it kind of always happened step by step. Of the I would make the high school team, they're like, Oh, have you ever thought about rowing in university? And then it's like I was on the university team, like, oh, have you ever thought about trying under 23 team? And I didn't know about you know how that level system worked. And so I think having the opportunity to join sport and try something out, and then showing, you know, where you could go if you're interested in doing it, so that there is this idea of like, oh, this could be something that I do for a longer run if I wanted to, and making sure that those opportunities are there because unfortunately a lot of people quit sport pretty early, and a lot of that is accessibility and knowledge on what exists.

Dustin Heise 13:28

Totally. And as sports continue to have, you know, refreshed resourcing and looking ahead. I think that we all now stand a chance to communicate, advocate message to youth and drive participation and be able to retain participants, no matter the sport. Because we all agree, like it doesn't matter the sport. We'd love you to love our sport, but if there's one that's a better fit or it's more accessible or it's closer to home, like awesome. We want to make sure that we've, you know, enacted and enabled that and kind of agree more. And it doesn't always come down to money, but you know, having resourcing, you know, now at a level where sport is is able to have so much hope and so much potential as we look ahead. We're gonna find ourselves in some really, really fun years ahead together here, Suzanne, and yeah, very stoked for that together. But, you know, as you look and think a year out from now, and you know, is there something that or a defining moment that you feel that you're gonna be able to achieve and look back on and be like, in one year's time, you know, Suzanne as the chair of Athletes Can or Suzanne is, you know, a leader within Rowing Canada that that you'll have been able to achieve on behalf of sport or for yourself in your career?

Susanne Wereley 14:38

I think the like thinking on the athletes can side of things, I think that my long-term goal with Athletes Can, which is a huge pipe dream, would so not necessarily a year, would be that it's someday we're not needed. And that, you know, athletes are the center of everything and they're have an active seat at the table. I think for a year from now, a great goal would be for Athletes Can to be more of a household name than we currently are. I think we're becoming more well-known. And honorable Adam Van Cooverden, Secretary of State, is doing a really great job of trying to bring us in and help us with that table or that seat at the table. And so I think making sure that athletes know who we are and that we're here to help, and then it's not just always in times of need or bad times, like we're also here for connection and bringing athletes together and creating that community. So I'd say a year from now, I would hope that we're that first call for positive and negative experiences for the athlete when they need that community connection or an athlete voice.

Dustin Heise 15:41

I love that great vision. It's not a stretch, and I think that that's where partnership with every and any NSO and MSO is gonna enable that and just collaboration and that commitment. That way, the shared resourcing allows for that ability to unlock and communicate together so that there is always a place for the athletes and athletes can can continue to be that. And I have no doubt that you're gonna be able to create that relationship with the nature and the drive that you have, and also you know, you've got a great team around you. Let's circle back on that for a future date and see if we can't get you know our NSO and MSO colleagues to perpetuate that with us. Suzanne, thanks so much for taking some time today. This is awesome.

Susanne Wereley 16:26

Yeah, thank you. It's always great to chat.