Hometown hero Nick Taylor took a trip to Paris this month; the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) honorary degree recipient represented Team Canada at the 2024 Olympics.  

Nick won the RBC Canadian Open in 2023, slingshotting himself all the way to the Olympic golf team. The 36-year-old Abbotsford local was the first Canadian to win the tournament in 69 years. He also won the WM Phoenix Open this year and was the world’s highest ranked golf amateur at the age of 22.  

His Olympic journey really started 14 years ago. In 2010, Nick was chosen for the honour of running the torch for 200 metres across the city of Merritt. Over a decade later, he’s still carrying the Olympic dream – this time, as one of the athletes competing for gold.  

The first-time Olympian brings his Canadian pride with him on the green, where he always marks his ball with his lucky commemorative toonie. Joining him on the team is Ontario’s Corey Conners. Corey finished 13th overall in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and earned 9th place this year in Paris.  

It was an exciting moment for UFV to watch Nick step up to the putt on the world stage. He was awarded his honorary Doctor of Law earlier this year and gave the commencement address via video at UFV’s June 13th convocation ceremony. He’s a mentor to our very own Cascades golf team and founded the Nick Taylor Charity Classic golf tournament to fund student athlete scholarships and local non-profits. He established the tournament in partnership with his wife Andie Taylor, who graduated from UFV in 2012 with a Bachelor of Social Work.  

After an admirable performance last week at the games, Nick is still coming home a winner. He landed 30th in the rankings among the world’s greatest athletes – to the great pride of the Abbotsford community.