Prepping for Pan Ams: Interview with Molly Killingbeck

Molly Killingbeck twice represented Canada at the Olympic Games as a sprinter and won . First in 1984, where she won a silver medal in the 4x400m relay, and again in 1988.

She’s now working as a sport manager for the upcoming Pan American Games in Toronto later this summer.

CR: What exactly are you doing for the fast-approaching Pan Am games?

MK: I’m the sport manager for the shooting, mountain biking and canoe slalom events, so I am responsible for all the planning and preparation, getting the officials organized, recruiting volunteers and ensuring that any equipment required is available. Right now we’re just at the end of volunteer recruitment, so next up is going to be training all the volunteers for their responsibilities during the games.

CR: What’s it like as a former athlete to be back at the games in an organizational role?

MK: I think each role has its own very specific challenges. As an athlete, you’re coached to be focused and self-centred—the only thing you have to worry about is your own performance. As a coach, which is another role I’ve played, the main task is to manage those self-centred athletes, to make sure that they are physically and psychologically at their best. Now as a manager, my work is to make sure that everything comes together in order to give coaches and athletes the ability to do their jobs.

CR: You come from a background in athletics, specifically sprinting, but now you’re managing some vastly different sports—what was that learning curve like?

MK: This is when the internet is the best thing ever. Right after I found out that I would be responsible for shooting, mountain biking and canoe slalom, I hopped on YouTube to get a sense of what the play is like. I’ve learned a lot since I started in January 2013, that’s for sure! Luckily, the chairs of the social organizing committees for each sport come from an extensive background in that sport, so they’ve been able to help when I’ve been lost about details of play.

CR: What has Toronto done well with these games?

MK: Our games cover a really large footprint—as far west as Welland and as far north as Minden, the swimming is in Scarborough, waterpolo is in Markham, we’re all over. This means that we can really make the games accessible to a lot of people, way more than if everything was just concentrated in downtown Toronto.

CR: Are there any athletes that you’re particularly looking forward to seeing?

MK: In the sports that I’m working with, I’ve gotten to know who some of the top athletes are. Since I’ve become steeped in these sports over the past couple years, I’m looking forward to getting to see them in action. In the canoe slalom and shooting events, the Pan Ams are Olympic qualifiers, so these are going to be really important for the athletes. In the mountain biking, there are some Canadian ladies that are contenders for podium spots. As far as athletics, I’m looking forward to seeing the American and Jamaican sprint teams; they’re a very talented group of athletes.