At the 2020/2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Jewish beach volleyballer Alix Klineman took home the gold medal with her partner April Ross. Now, Jewish Canadian beach volleyball star Sam Schachter is hoping to win a medal in the men’s tournament in Paris and has the chance to start a streak of Jewish excellence in Olympic beach volleyball.
Here are 18 things t0 know about him.
1. Sam Schachter was born on May 8, 1990 in Ontario to a Jewish family.
2. He’s a Taurus!
3. Please enjoy this photo of young Sam.
4. He got into the sport of beach volleyball as a 15-year-old. According to his profile on the Team Canada website, it was because “he had a good teacher who helped him fall in love with the game.”
5. Sam played a lot of sports as a kid including hockey, golf and tennis.
6. Sam attended Westmount Collegiate Institute for high school and Wilfrid Laurier University for college, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies.
7. In 2013, Sam and his then-beach volleyball partner Josh Binstock represented Canada (in the indoor volleyball tournament) at the Maccabiah Games. They won a silver medal.
You can listen to him talk about his experience at the Maccabiah Games here.
8. Some of his career highlights include winning a FIVB Junior World Championship in 2010, the Canadian national championship in 2014 and silver medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022.
9. Sam represented Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics!
10. Alongside partner Josh Binstock, Sam came in 19th place in Rio.
“My Olympic experience has finally come to an end. Although I must admit that I am disappointed with the final result, there is no doubt that the lessons that I have learned will make me a better athlete, teammate and person,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
11. Sam also coaches volleyball! He has held coaching positions at George Brown College, the University of Toronto, and York University in Canada.
12. He’s 6’5″!
13. He proposed to his now-fiance Julie Gordon in 2023. Julie is a former Canadian beach volleyball player.
A belated mazel tov, Sam and Julie!
14. He’s inspired by John Child and Mark Heese, Canadian beach volleyballers who won the bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
15. Listen to Sam and his current volleyball partner Dan Dearing talk about their path to the 2024 Paris Olympics!
16. Can you tell Sam was excited to qualify for the Paris Olympics?
“All the hard work has paid off. I cannot wait to get on the court and represent my country at the Olympic games AGAIN,” he wrote on Instagram.
17. Sam wasn’t able to walk in the Opening Ceremony at the Rio Olympics because he had a match the next day. He hopes to be able to walk at the Opening Ceremony in Paris.
18. Sam has advice for future Olympians!
“Check out other sports and sort of connect with other athletes. Because I think we all have super interesting and unique experiences,” he said on Instagram.
