A notice in the local newspaper grabbed her attention. A triathlon? Only for kids?
Dominika Jamnicky, 11 years old, was stoked to see the announcement.
Her family had relocated from Australia to Port Hope, Ont., only a couple of months before, so she was itching to fit in, keen to make friends.
So even though she had never attempted a triathlon, Jamnicky remembers thinking, “Well, I like to swim, I like to bike, I like to run. I’ll give it a go.”
She clipped out the entry for the Cobourg Kids of Steel triathlon — taped it to the fridge to keep the details handy — and convinced her parents to go to the website and sign her up. “That was my summer motivation, this race,” says Jamnicky. “That was my first shot.”
What she lacked in preparation, she made up with gumption.
“To this day, I still have a picture, showing the grit on my face, the determination that I had to cross the line,” says Jamnicky. “That was what sparked me to continue. For me, from there, the rest was history.”
Because race day, all of it, was unlike anything the girl had ever experienced. A door opened.
“It was the first time I felt that I really belonged somewhere after moving to a new country,” recalls Jamnicky. “The welcoming attitude was really enticing. I felt like I had become a part of a community. I made friends there. We went on to race each other for the rest of that summer. Of the people I met, I’m still friends with them today.
“I thought, ‘This is it for me. This is what I want to do.'”
That fateful day in 2004, Jamnicky become a triathlon lifer.
The following summer, she signed up for multisport camps around Ontario. And even 20 years after her introduction to the sport, triathlon’s allure has shown no signs of fading.
A fixture on the international scene for more than a decade, no stranger to the podium or even the winner’s circle, Jamnicky has become a name. For Team Canada, she earned bronze in the mixed-team relay at 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
And, as proof of her time-management wizardry, she’s also squeezed in a bachelor’s degree from the University of Guelph. And last summer she graduated from Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College’s four-year doctorate program in Toronto.
Training and travelling as a full-time elite athlete while immersed in the workload of an academic commitment might seem like the recipe for chaos.
Not to Jamnicky. She basked in what she calls a “really beautiful balance.”
A vibe that continues today as she transitions from educational undertakings to a professional path. “I’ve been able to work with a lot of active people in the community and make sure they’re healthy when they’re training and lining up to achieve their goals,” she says. “It’s been super-rewarding.”
This is the mindset that serves her so well — unfailingly constructive, endlessly positive.
Even something as heart-shattering as falling short of Olympic qualification cannot keep her down. In an incredibly gung-ho effort this past spring, she’d raced on five continents in a seven-week span to nail down a spot. And nearly pulled it off.
The women’s field for Paris was 55 — Jamnicky wound up 56th.
“That’s the beauty — and maybe scariness — of going after something so big,” says the 31-year-old, who was also an alternate for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. “No one can guarantee that you’re going to make it. But to go through that process, to learn a lot about myself and get that doctorate while trying to qualify for the Olympics, I’m really proud that I went for it.”
And guess what? She has already set her sights set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“It’s 100 per cent my path,” says Jamnicky, whose mother Jana played for the Australian handball team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. “I’ve taken time to grieve, to process, and now I’m going use that energy and motivation to go for another cycle.”
In typical fashion, she will be sure to leave room in her life for more than just race starts.
In Guelph, Jamnicky operates a club — Royal City Multisport — which is a welcoming space for people of all ages, shapes and abilities. Getting children, in particular, enthused about sport is what drives her.
“The inclusivity in triathlon — there’s a place for everyone,” she says. “And because there are so many variations of our sport, you really can’t count anyone out. Everyone has a place, everyone has a discipline that they love and they enjoy. That’s really the beauty of having three sports combined into one.
“When I see those kids and the smiles on their faces, feeling accomplished and enjoying what they do, loving being out there with their friends, that, to me, is the most rewarding part.
“It’s more than just your results or putting that medal around your neck.”
Fresh in her mind, no doubt, is the little girl who simply wanted to belong and discovered the welcoming world of triathlon. Now, already considering her legacy, Jamnicky is aiming to be someone who inspires newcomers, who paves the way for the next generation.
“A big part of my journey has been the ability to give back,” she says. “I think triathlon is a beautiful sport. It’s a gruelling sport, a tough sport, but it’s such a tight-knit community.
“I’d like to introduce as many people as possible to this crazy, amazing lifestyle — that is my goal.”