You might think it was fate – Bruce Robertson, an Olympic gold medalist turned business owner, living in a city where one the nation’s strongest rowing programs is situated. And if you ask Bruce, sole proprietor of Calgary's Crew Club Athletics, fate is exactly what it was.
Bruce didn't turn to rowing until later in life, but when he did, he did so as a hobby to keep himself in shape and occupy some time. “I was a hockey player,” Bruce says. “I wanted to play in the NHL. I was pretty good, but I got injured. I broke my shoulder and I went back and I played, but I couldn’t really play and I realized I wasn’t going to be a professional.”
At that point, Bruce was only 20 years old and thought it was best for him to take up a new activity. After all, he still wanted to drink beer, and jokes he would "get super fat" if he didn't pick up anything new. “So I just went down to the Calgary Rowing Club,” Bruce says. “But then I discovered I actually liked it and I had the right body type for it.”
Bruce's dedication and work ethic he had previously applied to his hockey career carried over in his pursuit of rowing, and he continued to improve. He became so skilled that Bruce won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona as a member of the Canadian team.
