2008 FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR   Heather Mandoli

When Heather Mandoli sits down to row, row, row her boat, there is nothing “gentle” about it. As a member of the Canadian Olympic rowing team in Beijing, China, last summer, however, the results were like a dream as she helped her team finish fourth in the world. An athlete who excelled at basketball, volleyball and rugby while she attended KLO Secondary, Heather showed a passion for rowing and in 2000, she was selected to join the Junior Canadian National Women’s Rowing Team. From then on, she was merrily merrily merrily merrily on her way to the top. While on scholarship for the University of Michigan, she continued rowing for the U23 National Canadian team which won a bronze medal in the U23 World Championships in Poland, and while completing her second degree at University of Western Ontario, she became an ambassador for the International Right to Play Federation while continuing to make waves in the rowing world. Gearing up for the Olympics, Heather’s team rowed to second and third place finishes in other world championships in 2008 and she was awarded the Rowing Canada Aviron Award of Excellence.