elios athlete ambassadors

Alina Ismaguilova

“The care I have received at Elios is second to none and I recommend seeing anyone here, especially to athletes in climbing, gymnastics, and weightlifting.

Len is compassionate, wise, and understands what it takes to compete in high level sport.

The amount of care and thought that Len puts into his treatment approach is admirable and I trust him wholeheartedly in optimizing my performance as a Team Canada athlete.

Also -- my day always turns around seeing Crystal's smile at the clinic!! Thank you Elios for what you have done for me so far. 🧡”

- Alina (weightlifting)

Guy McNamee

“My name is Guy McNamee. I am a competitive rock climber. I have been climbing for eleven years now. I have been on the Canadian Climbing Team since 2017. Climbing is a big part of my life and has led me to amazing experiences and countries. I first started climbing when I was 9 years old. I climbed everything when I was young: the walls, roofs, etc. My parents took me to a climbing gym and I instantly fell in love. It was a great feeling. I started competing when I was 10 or 11 and continued from there. Over the years I’ve been to provincial, regional, national and international competitions in both youth and open events.  

Rock climbing gives me a purpose in life. It keeps me fit and healthy. I would not be taking as good care of my body if I didn’t care about climbing. It also keeps me happy and busy. It has provided me with friends I never would have known. I have had many amazing trips to places like Austria, Russia, Switzerland, France, Germany, Scotland, the Czech Republic, and Italy. I would never have had these travels if I wasn’t climbing.”

Photo by Wayne Takashiba

Kinder McNamee

“My name is Kindar McNamee. I was born in Haiti. I was adopted when I was twenty months old. I have lived in Canada ever since. I started climbing when I was nine years old. I instantly loved climbing as soon as I started, and I have been climbing ever since. I have competed in many competitions - locally, nationally, and even internationally. I have been on the Youth and Open Canadian Team many times. I have been to three Youth World Championships, a Youth Pan American Championships, eight World Cups, and two Open World Championships.

My twin brother and I are self-coached. Self-coaching has worked very well for us. We have improved so much, and we aren’t limited to the places we train. Having a brother as a training partner is so much fun and beneficial. We push each other, cheer for each other, and laugh with each other. Training with ourselves has helped us stay focused and has given us the chance to strengthen our weaknesses.

Climbing has had such a powerful effect on my life. It has helped me in so many ways. I will always be thankful for what this sport has done for me.”

Photo by Wasyne Takashiba

Becca Frangos (she/her)

Having grown up in the small mountain town of Canmore, AB Becca took to outdoor sports at a young age including skiing, mountain biking and outdoor climbing. She first tried indoor climbing at a summer camp at the Vsion Climbing gym and it was that first moment she reached the top of the wall that her passion for the sport was ignited. She began competing in 2010 and made her first Youth National Team in 2011.

After a successful youth career Becca continued on and has since been a member of the adult National Team since 2015, competing at over 30 World Cup events and most recently was part of a small team who made history as the first athletes in Canadian climbing to compete at the Pan American Games. She also enjoys climbing outdoors and is one of a small group of Canadian women to have redpointed 5.14b.

Outside of sport Becca is passionate about her work as a Community-Based Support Worker, enjoys coaching the next generation of athletes and volunteers in the mental health field. After her push for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Becca is planning to pursue graduate studies in Counselling Psychology with the goal of eventually becoming a Sports Psychologist.

Photo by Mike Doyle

Kai Iwassa
Artistic Gymnastics

Team Canada

2024 Next Gen Senior National Champion

Nationals this year was way more challenging mentally and physically than previous years since I was constantly battling injuries while trying to prepare with minimal time for the most important meet of my career yet. Though my performance was far from ideal, I was able to compete on all six apparatus despite being worried a couple of months prior if I would have the ability to run, jump, or land when it came time to compete.

In spite of these setbacks I was able to take the All Around title, Parallel Bars title, High Bar title, Silver Floor, and Bronze on Rings in the Senior Next Generation category. 

This was all possible thanks to my coaches and support, in particular Len Chong at Elios Health who even came to the competition to support Team BC. Working with Len, he did hands-on work to help me recover and together we implemented strategies to protect and monitor my injuries to steadily make progress towards building back my routines. Len is extremely innovative and adaptive and thanks to him I was confident in my body's status when it came time to compete. 

Looking to join the Elios Health Community?

If you would like to nominate a high performing athlete or outdoor adventurer, contact us!