Lesa Mayes-Stringer (born 13th of May, 1968 in North Battleford,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

) is a former bobsled athlete who competed for Canada from 1999 to 2007. Lesa Mayes-Stringer married Christopher Stringer in Richmond, British Columbia in 1994. Together she and her husband have 3 children. The oldest is Meigan Stringer, born in 1996 and doing her degree in International Business at Inseec in Lyon, France. Their second child, Madison Stringer, was born May 29th, 1998. She is attending the University of Geneva in Switzerland while doing her Masters in Neuroscience. Adam Stringer was born April 6, 2003. He is attending the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design.

Education

Lesa earned her degree in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and staf ...

on an academic scholarship and completed the PDP program at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

where she received her teaching certification.

Professional career

Lesa worked as a High School teacher in Calgary, Alberta. During this time she started the PLP program for High School social studies for the Calgary Board of Education. She used the theory of multiple intelligences as a basis for using diversified teaching techniques to better meet individual student needs. The program began as a pilot program with approximately 24 students and later ballooned to include thousands of students.

Athletic Career

Canadian Jr. Silver medallist in the Heptathlon Canadian Silver medallist Canadian Senior Track and Field Championships in the Heptathlon York University Track team. CIAU National Gold medallist, 60 meter hurdles; Gold medallist 4X400m; Gold medallist, 4X100m; Bronze medallist shot put Simon Fraser University Track and Field Team. Gold medallist shot put, Gold medallist 4X100m Canadian Champion Women's 2 man Bobsleigh 2003/2005 pilot First Black Women's Canadian Bobsleigh Pilot Gold Medallist First North American Black Women to compete on the World Cup Circuit as a pilot. Canadian Champion Women's 2man Bobsleigh 2004/2005 pilot. During her time as an athlete Lesa volunteered as a speaker with the YES Program (Youth Education for Sport) speaking to thousands of children throughout Canada. She also represented the 350 Canadian High Performance athletes from 2000 to 2007 on the executive board for the Canadian Sport Institute located in Calgary, Alberta. She advocated for athletes rights and even met with the Minister of Health and helped to get mandatory heath coverage put in place for all National Team athletes. In 2007, Lesa Mayes-Stringer and her family moved to France. She was asked to rebuild the National Bobsleigh program for Team France with assistance from the head coach of the national team of Monaco. Lesa Mayes-Stringer started an English training school in France called Lovin'English. Her daughter Madison competes with the French National Women's Bobsleigh Team. In 2021, Madison won the Under 23 Jr World Championships with her pilot Margot Boch. Lesa now lives in Edmonton, Alberta Canada where she works in the full time ministry as the Women's Ministry Leader for the Capital City Church of Christ. She is involved in helping to bring about changes in Bobsleigh for Canada. She is the younger sister of former professional football player Rueben Mayes.

References

Black pioneers of Western Canada 2005 conference featuring Mayes-Stringer

Canadian sport news information for the 2003-04 bobsleigh and skeleton team featuring Mayes-Stringer
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External links

* 1968 births Living people Black Canadian sportswomen Canadian female bobsledders Canadian female hurdlers Canadian heptathletes French female bobsledders Sportspeople from North Battleford York University alumni Black French sportspeople Canadian emigrants to France {{France-bobsleigh-bio-stub