Meet the third-year Vikes Women’s Rugby player who won a silver Olympic medal
Photo courtesy of Carissa Norsten.
Third-year UVic student Carissa Norsten, who clinched a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 30, said that her win is proof that Vikes athletes should pursue their dreams, even if they have only been in their sport for a short time.
Norsten, a Vikes Women’s Rugby player, joined Canada’s Women’s Rugby Sevens Olympic roster after only five years playing rugby. Norsten rose to international success as a star player on UVic Women’s Rugby team.
“I think really, if you are passionate for your sport to just give it your all. You never know where it’ll take you,” said Norsten. “It took me to some pretty cool places. Obviously, one of them being the Olympics.”
Like many UVic student athletes, Norsten is not originally from Vancouver Island. Originally from the small town of Waldheim, Saskatchewan, Norsten moved to Victoria while she was in high school to pursue rugby.
Well-known rugby coach and Team Canada alumni, Robin MacDowell, recognized Norsten’s athletic ability in her early days of the sport and supported her relocation in 2019.
In 2022 Norsten participated in RBC Training Ground, a talent identification program aiming at finding young athletes with potential and matching them with the resources they need to succeed.
Norsten shone at the RBC Training Ground skill tests and earned RBC Future Olympian funding and a commitment from Ruby Canada to support her athletic development. Two years after receiving this deal, it’s clear that the name of the fund was a good sign for what was to come.
Shortly after debuting in university-level athletics, Norsten was awarded with 2022 U SPORTS Rookie of the Year — one of the highest accolades in Canadian university athletics. During the following season, she would secure her first spot on Canada’s Senior National team, debuting at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
In 2024, she was awarded again with Canadian Rugby Women’s Sevens Series Women’s Rookie of the Year along with being named to the Paris Olympics roster.
Norsten was the only current UVic student to be named to Canada’s roster for the Paris Olympics. On the women’s rugby sevens team, she was joined by UVic alumni Krissy Scurfield and Shalaya Valenzuela.
Starting off the 2024 season, Canada’s women’s rugby team sat in ninth place overall.
Norsten’s team, under the guidance of team captain Olivia Apps, made a swift move to success, receiving a silver medal finish in a hard-fought final match against New Zealand — the reigning gold medalists. This is Canada’s women’s rugby team’s best-ever finish.
“It obviously means the world. It’s a dream come true,” said Norsten. “[I’m] just so grateful for the opportunity to go to the Olympics and be a part of such an incredible team and to win a medal.”
While Norsten was the only active student representing UVic at the Olympics, she was joined by numerous UVic alumni and support staff who were a part of the games. In addition to women’s rugby alumni Scurfield and Valenzuela, Norsten was joined by women’s rowers Avalon Wasteneys — who is also an RBC Training Ground athlete — as well as Caileigh Filmer.
Numerous UVic support staff also secured tickets to Paris, including alumnus and announcer Chris Hindmarch-Watson, physiotherapist Sue Lott, Vikes chiropractor Dr. Simon Pearson, and Rowing Canada team leader Adam Parfitt.
Norsten will soon be returning to UVic in time for the fall semester where she will reconnect with her Vikes teammates. Having a newfound Olympic medalist perspective, Norsten hopes to motivate other student athletes.
“Going back to UVic, I just hope that it … inspires the younger athletes and even people my age to just go for it. Shoot your shot. You never know.”
