(ATR) Canada now has a chef de mission for the next Olympic Games.
The Canadian Olympic Committee named Jean-Luc Brassard its chef de mission for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics on Dec. 4.
The Olympic skier was chosen after working under former chef Steve Podborski during the Sochi 2014 games, where he realized that his experience could benefit the summer athletes.
"They [summer and winter athletes] speak the same language, it's an Olympian language," Brassard was quoted as saying, according to CBC Sports.
"At the end of the day, that made me agree to go for Rio, even if it's a Summer Games."
Brassard became Canada’s first male Olympic skiing champion when he won a gold medal in Lillehammer 1994. He went on to be the Canadian flag bearer for the opening ceremonies of the Nagano 1998 Olympics and retired from competition in 2002.
His first job as chef de mission is to get to know the 200 Canadian athletes who will compete in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. After that, Brassard will choose an assistant chef for the games.
Mark Tewksbury was the Canadian chef de mission during the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Written by Andrew Murrell
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