Athlete of the Month: Grace Finlayson

Grace is a pillar in not only our 6S community, but in our Toronto community. Not only does she show up and work hard, she lends a hand by volunteering her time at a local food bank. She does all this with a smile on her face. Shes been a role model to our 6S fam since July 2018 and we couldn't imagine our home without her in it.

Covid has not decreased Grace’s workload. In fact she is busier now during isolation than before in ‘normal’ times. This has not stopped her from caring for herself! She regularly crushes her daily program while balancing family and work commitments. She demonstrates daily that doing something can lead to great things. An example of this is her great improvements in Push Ups and Negative Pull Ups among other things.

Commitment to Consistency pays off. There is nothing flashy. Just a desire to improve and the discipline to actually get it done. A lesson we can ALL learn from her!

~written by Coach Dave

A message from Grace:

"Hi 6S family!

I'm very grateful to be chosen as the Athlete of the Month! In the spirit of the current social justice movement, I wanted to take this time to do some reading and learning about BIPOC athletes and share some links and videos about some inspirational individuals. I hope we can continue to keep this conversation going within our fitness community.

If you'd like to reach out and say hi anytime you can find me on instagram @gracefinlayson"

Grace has also shared why she chose these athletes and how they've inspired her.

"Sam Effah - I just came across his article on google and thought it spoke to the current times very poignantly."

Sprinter Sam Effah on running while Black
https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/sprinter-sam-effah-on-running-while-black/

"Boucher - I’m a big Raptors fan and wanted to look into his backstory."

From Homeless at 16 to NBA Champion: Chris Boucher https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnoHDWEh36k

"Waneek Horn-Miller I also just came across on google. I think her experiences speak to how athletes can use their platform for political change."

Inidgenous Activist and Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/waneek-horn-miller

​"Cathy Freeman was a big hero in Australia when I was growing up and I thought Canadians might be interested in her."

Australian Indigenous Gold Medalist Cathy Freeman
https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/cathy-freeman

"Cece Telfer - Black trans women have always been at the forefront of LBGTQ+ rights activism so I was curious to learn about their place in the sports world."

CeCé Telfer: the first publicly out trans woman to win an NCAA track & field title
https://www.outsports.com/2019/6/3/18649927/ncaa-track-champion-cece-telfer-transgender-athlete-fpu-trans-testosterone