Alex Kopacz inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame

By Amy Samson

Photo Credit: Geoff Robbins

Former Western Track & Field athlete and Olympic gold medalist, Alex Kopacz BESc'13, BSc'19, was inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 2, 2023.

Alex’s journey towards Olympic gold began in earnest during his time competing on the Track & Field team at Western.

After a couple of years focused mainly on his academics, working towards a double degree in mechanical engineering and physics, Alex wandered into former Olympic discus thrower Jason Tunks’ London gym. Impressed by Alex’s deadlift, Jason invited him to train as a shotput thrower. As a result of Jason’s encouragement Alex found himself competing for Western.

Reflecting on his time competing as a mustang, Alex says, “What I really appreciated was that it exposed me to how hard a person could work.”

Western throwing coach Sylvia Kontra remembers, “Alex was an excellent student as well as an athlete. He was one of those rare athletes that could have been put into any sport and been successful. His size and his speed, combined with his inherent commitment to improve is impressive.”

After throwing practice Alex would head to the track to race against the other athletes for fun. At 280 lbs he could run 60 meters in 7.2 seconds.

Alex’s coaches encouraged him to consider training for bobsled, believing that he had the strength and speed to make the Olympic team. In April 2013, they connected him with the talent ID camp at McMaster University, formally beginning his Olympic bobsled journey.

Alex remembers the transition to bobsled. “I had to lose almost 40 pounds and learn to run. My lifting was always excellent, but bobsled was a whole new sport for me. Training with the big dogs – all these Olympic athletes – was a pretty starstruck moment at first, but quickly I started to realize that I had the right skillset and I belonged.”

Alex travelled with the Canadian bobsled team before completing a development year. Following intensive training, he made the Canadian World Cup team. During all of this he was trying to finish his second degree.

Leading up to his Olympic debut, Alex and pilot Justin Kripps earned four world cup podiums together and captured the 2017-2018 Crystal Globe as overall world cup champions. At PyeongChang 2018, Alex and Justin were part of the second-ever tie for Olympic bobsled gold, matching the four-run total time of the German team.

Reflecting on his first Olympic experience, Alex recalls, “It’s electric and you know that whole world is watching. It’s a heavy responsibility.”

Alex’s favourite part of his bobsled career was getting to know people from all over the world. “I am very nerdy with my technical background, and learning other languages was a fun challenge. It felt satisfying and fulfilling to interact with people from different countries.”

Since his retirement from bobsled, Alex continued to coach, and notably helped prepare athletes for the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. He has also put his energy towards founding a tech company and completing his master’s degree in medical biophysics.

“My company Step Sciences applies concepts in medical orthotics that I came across when I was living in Germany, enhancing how feet perform based on sensory feeling. We’re building an AI diagnosing suite and 3D-printing components.”

We congratulate Alex on his induction into the London Sports Hall of Fame!