Road racer and Trinity Western alumna Alison Jackson is soon to be a two-time Olympian.
After racing in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Jackson, a professional cyclist, is ready to compete again at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
TWU at the Olympics
Five Trinity Western Spartans alumni will be representing Canada in the Olympic Games Paris 2024: Eric Loeppky, Brodie Hofer, and Lucas Van Berkel will be competing on the men's volleyball team, Regan Yee in the steeplechase, and Alison Jackson in the road race and time trial cycling events. The Olympic Games in Paris will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
Stay tuned this summer on TWU's website and social media channels to see their stories.
Racing for Canada
Alison Jackson is one of five Trinity Western Spartans alumni who are representing Canada at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The professional cyclist earned a bachelor’s degree in 2014 majoring in human kinetics with a double minor in business and theology.
Just last year, Jackson became the first Canadian to win the grueling Paris-Roubaix Femmes one-day race on the cobbled roads of northern France.
Choosing her path
Before becoming a bike racing star, Jackson grew up on a farm in Alberta, where she remembers watching the Olympics as a child and being inspired to dream big dreams.
With a tenacious desire to excel and an openness to new opportunities, Jackson took on many challenges, and as an athlete, she soon showed strengths in many sports. By the time she was studying at Trinity Western, Jackson was competing in cycling, running, and swimming.
Eventually, she chose cycling to be her area of laser focus.
“All this journey has been very surprising,” she says, “but really it's just [about] being a person that says yes, and after saying yes, just digging in full gas to what the opportunity was.”
"We have hearts and spirits that we need to create healthy habits around and to
explore what makes us unique.”
A holistic approach to success
She credits TWU for being a key part of her development as an athlete and as a person. It was at TWU that Jackson began to pursue athletic excellence within a larger famework of human flourishing.
“The great ‘combo’ that Trinity Western has with the Complete Champion Approach™ training system is that it's really showing you how to manage life balance,” she begins.
“You know, sometimes we like to think...athletes are robots. Like, if we give them exactly this right nutrition and these training stresses, then it will equal (in a scientific formula) performance,” she illustrates.
“But we have hearts and spirits that we need to create healthy habits around and to explore what makes us unique.
Through TWU’s Complete Champion Approach™ training system, Jackson discovered more of what makes her unique as a person. “For me, a big part of it is being creative,” she shares. “There’s creativity in my sport, where there's a lot of tactics, and you have to play a game. It really helps me when I can tap into my unique creativity and how I see things.”
"TWU...allowed a space for you to develop as a holistic person. And that for me, in sport and real life, has created a great balance..."
Space for joy
More importantly, Jackson has gained a steady foundation that carries her through the ups and downs of life: a spiritual grounding that helps her “not be pushed back and forth in the wave of chaos that is sport performance and success and failure.”
“TWU basically allowed a space for you to develop as a holistic person,” she explains, “And that for me, in sport and real life, has created a great balance that allows me to stay positive, happy, grateful, and able to see the opportunity in the moments whether failure or success.”
This grounding is an enduring source of strength for Jackson, “In the face of defeat or success, [it is] having this space of common peace and joy.”
Leadership development
In addition to supporting her personal growth as an athlete, TWU also provided space for Jackson to develop her leadership skills. She became team captain during her final two years with the Spartans. This gave her the opportunity to invest in others’ success.
Jackson reflects on her mindset as team captain and the type of questions she would ask herself, such as, “What does that look like to motivate or encourage your teammates? What does that look like to either be top performer or help push your teammates to more?”
This leadership mindset is something that Jackson has brought into other contexts. “You have to lead yourself well before you lead others, and being able to take that into every team and program that I've been on since [graduating] has been super valuable.”
“If I can be the difference maker for a teammate, and then we win, then that's super valuable.”
Seeing others
Even today, she continues to carry the other-focused heart of a leader.
“I always just pray that I can see people with God's eyes,” she speaks of her attitude. This influences her approach in a way that she describes, “adds more compassion or also sees beyond just me and my place in sport.”
In addition to developing a more compassionate view of others, Jackson’s attitude also shapes her view of winning.
“When we're in athletics, we want to win. I mean, that's probably how we've gotten to where we are; it’s because we have success in winning. But to be able to balance that—that it's not a win at all costs, but it's also asking, ‘what is a win and what is success?’”
“If I can be the difference maker for a teammate, and then we win, then that's super valuable.”
“There’s a lot of pressure in the high sports environment. I've been able to see people with not just an outward performance view, but like how Jesus sees people..."
Motivated to see others grow
As an athlete and a team player, Jackson continues to be invested in others’ holistic growth. “It's also being able to see people and teammates more than just as what their performance is, but also, what's in their heart or how can you motivate them? What's going on below the layers that we can help sort out?”
“There’s a lot of pressure in the high sports environment. I've been able to see people with not just an outward performance view, but like how Jesus sees people, which is [asking], ‘where's their heart at? . . . And then to just be available to where God wants to use you as a helper.”
Pondering her impact on others further, Jackson reflects, “Maybe it is just sharing a bit more of my joy, which really comes from this special place of what I believe God has done for me.”
See also: Alumnus Eric Loeppky named to Canadian men's volleyball team
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
The Complete Champion Approach™ (CCA) helps Trinity Western Spartan student-athletes become champions in all areas of their lives by focusing on whole person development.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has locations in Canada: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Instagram @trinitywestern, Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn. For media inquiries, please contact: media@twu.ca.