Speedskating: Davis aiming for 5 golds at Olympics

Once again, Shani Davis has decided not to skate the team pursuit at the Olympics.

But the speedskating world-record holder does plan to race all five individual distances at the 2010 Vancouver Games -- with a little help from rival Chad Hedrick -- something that hasn't been attempted by an American in nearly 30 years.

"Shani's amazing," said Guy Thibault, the high-performance director for U.S. Speedskating.

Attempting to match the legendary Eric Heiden's five gold medals at the 1980 Lake Placid Games would be awfully tough, but even coming close could cement Davis -- already the world-record holder at 1,000 and 1,500 meters -- as one of the greatest all-around skaters his sport has ever seen. Most skaters specialize in the sprints, middle or long distances.

His decision is sure to stir debate, however.

Davis said earlier this month that he planned to skate the team event in Vancouver, after notoriously feuding with Hedrick over his decision to skip it at the 2006 Turin Games. That appeared to be another step in the peace-making process between the two, who have been more cordial with one another since Hedrick started a family, embraced his religion and changed his attitude.

"It's still Shani vs. Chad again," Hedrick said recently, "but it's a lot different terms now."

The Americans surely would be a top medal threat with Davis in the team pursuit lineup, too.

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Without him, they finished sixth at the Turin Games.

But Davis did not explain his decision, declining to comment on the final day of the U.S. Speedskating Championships at the Utah Olympic Oval on Wednesday, when the rest of the team for Vancouver was finalized but he did not compete.

Unlike four years ago, when federation officials did not announce that Davis had made the same decision in advance of the Turin Games, Thibault confirmed that Davis will skate only the individual events -- and that Hedrick turned down the opportunity to deny Davis one of his spots.

Hedrick held the top qualifying spot in the 10,000 meters, and could have knocked Davis off the team at that distance by claiming it by the end of the day.

But Hedrick had been planning all along to skip his sport's most grueling race in order to focus on shorter ones in which he feels stronger. He wound up sticking with that plan, in part because he has a bad back that "can't handle the stress for that long."

That allowed Davis to claim the spot -- in addition to those at 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 5,000 meters -- while Salt Lake City's Ryan Bedford earned the second of the two American places in the 10,000 by winning the event Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Park City's Nick Pearson and Magna's Rebekah Bradford won their races to earn the final spots in the 1,000 -- Bradford, after being allowed a re-skate following her fall near the finish -- while Park City's Maria Lamb qualified in the women's 5,000. Pearson already qualified in the 500.

"I'm happy as could be," he said.

But Davis' decision to skate five events in the Olympics remained in the issue of the day.

It marked a change from the intentions he expressed barely two weeks ago at a World Cup event at the Utah Olympic Oval, when he said he wanted to skate the team event and had "no ambitions or motivations" to skate the 10,000.

The lure of sporting history might have proved too great, however, and Hedrick did not press the issue the way he did four years ago.

"I don't have an opinion on it at all," said Hedrick, who plans to skate the 1,000, 1,500 and 5,000 in addition to the team pursuit. "We have great skaters. We have great young skaters who are coming up, and I'll skate with them and we'll represent the country the best we can. ... We'll still be in contention for a medal."

While Trevor Marsicano, Brian Hansen and Jonathan Kuck will join Hedrick in the pool for the three-man team event, Davis will embark on an ambitious schedule that will include five finals in 10 days. He has the ability to finish in the top five of any of his races, Thibault said, and the schedule lines up reasonably well, with the 5,000 first on Feb. 13 and the 10,000 not until Feb. 23 -- after his middle-distance specialities.

Thibault didn't have any problem with Davis deciding against the team pursuit, either.

"We respect that," he said. "It's a tough schedule. He's in every event, and he really wants to do well. ... I'd rather know that and work with the guys that we have [in the team pursuit]. We have a strong team."

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Vokoun, Seidenberg To Play In 2010 Olympics

Goalie Tomas Vokoun and defenseman Dennis Seidenberg will compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics for their home country, the Florida Panthers recently announced.

The Olympics will take place February 18th-28th in Vancouver, British Columbia.  

Vokoun, 33, was named to the Czech Republic team as the starter. He led the team to a bronze medal in 2006, and a gold medal in the 2005 World Championships. He is fifth in the NHL with 953 saves this season.  

Seidenberg will suit up for Germany, a team he represented in both the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. 


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2010 WINTER OLYMPICS: Clukey set to return from neck injury

Question: How is your injured neck coming along?
Answer: My neck's doing really well. I spent the last nine days in Lake Placid and was doing triple treatments a day. I feel almost 100 percent right now. The first test is staying home trying to maintain it myself and obviously getting back on the sled next Monday.
Q: What will you do in the run-up to the Olympics?
A: We still have four more World Cups. The Olympics are a little far out for me. I want to get back into my groove sliding and just take one race at a time and get some good results.
Q: Were you surprised you were a discretionary pick for the team?
A: I wouldn't say I was surprised. I had a pretty good season leading up to my neck injury. It's not always the way you want to be named to the team but given the situation I was happy. To have your coaches have that confidence in you, that's a huge confidence builder for myself.
Q: Besides the competition, what are you most looking forward to at the Games?
A: I think the whole experience is going to be great. It's going to be a huge scene. The U.S. has such a big team and it's really a supported team in general. It's going to be really cool to represent that. It's really the only time that all the sports are in one venue. I have some friends on the ski team that are vying for spots so I hope they make it so I can share it with some of them.
Q: How does the Olympic course at Whistler Mountain suit your style?
A: It's a pretty good track for me. I've had really good training both last year and this year on it. I feel really comfortable on the track. The start is really important there. It is the fastest track in the world but it doesn't get fast until the bottom.
Q: Describe a typical luge run.
A: There's a lot that goes on. The start is the first part and you have to be really strong and explosive. Once you settle into your sled, it's all about being soft and being relaxed and taking the track as it comes. You never have a perfect run, it's all about feeling things out.
Every day when I get to the track I walk the track and look at the ice and look at the curves just to focus my mindset. And right before every run I do a couple of mind runs visualizing my ideal runs. You have a set plan for the course, but you never have a perfect run. That's where experience comes into play.
Q: What separates the winners from the losers in a luge race?
A: The start is really important. You can't compete unless you have a fast start, but after that it's steering as little as possible. You have to really understand how the tracks work and use the natural pressures of the curve instead of trying to drive the perfect line. Basically every time you drive you're cutting into the ice and that creates friction and you're slowing yourself down.
Q: What sort of response have you had since being named to the team?
A: It's been really great. I've gotten a lot of e-mails from people in the community wishing me well. I haven't had a lot of time off. While I'm at home I can really let it sink in a little bit and take a couple of days off from training just to enjoy my family and enjoy the moment.
Q: How long will you continue to compete?
A: I think I'll for sure compete until 2014. I can change at any point because it is such a commitment and my life pretty much. The moment the passion's not there, obviously I'll walk away.
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
A: In the summer I like to hike and go kayaking a lot. In the season I read a do a lot of puzzles, like logic puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, things like that.
I usually go (to Sweden) a couple of times in the summer. In August we went on a four-day hiking trip, then there's the international start competition that we go to.
Q: What's the most rewarding part of being a full-time athlete?
A: Every day I can set little goals for myself and meet them. There's always something to work on and I'm a very self-driven, self-motivated person. I like just being responsible for myself.
It's obviously allowed me to see a lot of different places in the world I might not have gone to. I've made some good connections. I have a couple of good friends overseas that I talk to regularly and visit. It's kind of opened up my world a little bit.
Q: How have you grown as an athlete the past five or six years?
A: I've grown a lot. I have a lot more confidence in myself and that's come with the time on the sled. After not making the '06 team I took a lot of time and basically planned my next four years right down to my weight room sessions. I write all my own programs. I decided to really dedicate myself to the sport and change the training I needed to do to make myself a better slider.
Gary Hawkins

Unlike 2006, Team Canada Picks a Balanced Hockey Team 2010

On December 30, Team Canada recently announced the Men's Canadian Ice Hockey team for the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. A quick look at the players selected to Team Canada this year shows some major changes from the last Winter Olympics in 2006.

Rather than emphasizing experience, as was done in 2006, when players such as Shane Doan, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St Louis, and Ryan Smyth were selected, all of them were left off the 2010 team. In their places are players with not nearly as much international experience, such as Eric Staal, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Jonathan Toews.

Forwards:

A good mix of experience and youth, as well as top six and checking line forwards are present in the selection of Team Canada. Canada has three top lines that should shoulder the bulk of the scoring, as well as a solid checking line with players such as Brendan Morrow and Mike Richards.

In 2006, despite a stellar start to his rookie campaign, a notable omission was that of the then 19-year-old Sidney Crosby. This year he'll be counted on to play a very important role as Canada's top center and one of three alternate captains.

Defense:

If there would be any controversial selections, it would likely center around the defensemen picked for Team Canada. However, while some might express surprise at players such as Mike Green, Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf being left off the team, it actually makes a lot of sense leaving off players who are routinely among the NHL's highest scoring defensemen.

With the abundance of offense that Team Canada will have with all of their forward lines, Team Canada will be relying on their defense to do one thing and one thing only: play defense. Accordingly, it makes a lot more sense that more "defensive defensemen" such as Duncan Keith, Shea Weber and Brent Seabrook were chosen instead.

Both Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger will try to reproduce the same success in Vancouver that they had together as defensemen in Anaheim when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007.

Goaltending:

No surprise here, as Team Canada's goaltending situation has been universally predicted to be Marty Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, and someone else over all of 2009. Marc-Andre Fleury deserves this third spot as he's had a really solid start this year (22-11-1, 2.49 goals against average with a .907 save percentage though December 30).

Other Olympic hopefuls such as Cam Ward (5-13-5, 3.17 goals against average with a .896 save percentage through December 30) and Steve Mason (11-13-6, 3.18 goals against average with a .894 save percentage through December 30) have struggled this year, making Fleury the logical choice.

With such a talented group of skaters up front, no matter who is picked to be the starting goalie for Team Canada will not be required nor expected to "steal games." Rather, a talented team like Team Canada just needs a goaltender who is simply just solid in net.

Predictions for 2010:

Overall Team Canada this year seems like a balanced team. Of course, this team is going for gold and anything less would be a huge failure. With the players selected this year and with no glaring weaknesses, coupled with the fact that the Canadian team is playing in front of their home crowd, a gold medal will very likely be won by the Canadian men's ice hockey team in February 2010.

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Olympic torch lights up Parliament, draws huge crowds in Montreal

The Olympic flame entered the halls of Parliament in Ottawa on Thursday, officially putting its stamp on the final holdout province of its 45,000-kilometre odyssey across Canada, before resuming a tour of Quebec later in the evening in Montreal.

With the Ontario stop, the flame has now visited all 10 provinces and three territories.

“Imagine an 81-year-old gal being asked to carry the torch into the Parliament Buildings,” said figure-skating icon Barbara Ann Scott, who carried the torch onto the Commons floor.

The Olympic gold medallist told reporters she thought Vancouver organizing committee chief executive officer John Furlong was joking when he called to ask her if she was up to the task.

“And then I found out it was for real and I’m thrilled,” said a beaming Scott.

At five-foot-two and about 88 pounds, Scott joked it was difficult for organizers to find a white track suit small enough to fit her.

The Ottawa native earned a gold medal at the 1948 Winter Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. She said her hopes are high that Canada will take home “quite a few” gold medals at the Games, which kick off in Vancouver and Whistler in February.

A carnival atmosphere surrounded the torch’s viewing in Montreal as a huge crowd gathered early Thursday evening in the tony community of Westmount, near downtown.

Andreanne Morin, who rowed for Canada at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Games, and Dick Pound, a swimmer in the 1960 Games who is better known for his work with the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency, were among the torchbearers who were met with loud applause — and plenty of hotdogs and balloons.

“One of the reasons for this extensive relay is the Games are Canadian and for all these people to see the flame and know what the Games are about,” said Pound, shortly before the flame arrived via the official convoy.

“If our kids do as well as we think they will, it’s not impossible that Canada could win more medals than anyone else,” he said.

The crowd was a good mix of people, from over-excited elementary schoolchildren, to seniors in fur hats and one enthusiast in a vintage Calgary 1988 torch bearer’s uniform, the last time Canada hosted a Winter Olympics.

Later in the evening, however, protesters made their voices heard as an incongruous scene played out in Old Montreal moments before the Olympic flame was to arrive at a party.

As a youthful choir sang on stage and scenes of past Olympic performances flashed on a giant screen, police in riot gear pushed a crowd of about 150 anti-Olympics demonstrators away from the stage and off the flame route. No arrests were made.

But as the flame was winding its way through the streets of Old Montreal toward a large cauldron at the base of Jacques Cartier square, protesters were still blowing horns and shouting slogans like “Shame the corporate flame” and “No Olympics on stolen native land.”

“We are here to disrupt the relay to let people know that there is resistance to this propaganda event called the Olympics,” said Pat Cadorette, a spokesman for the protesters.

For the first hour of the party, the protesters outnumbered celebrants. They drew attention to their cause by banging on drums, and playing a tuba and several horns, and shouting speeches into a microphone plugged into a mobile sound system.

Earlier in the afternoon, gusting winds and freshly plowed snowbanks didn’t deter an estimated 9,000 students and hundreds of West Island residents, both young and old, from lining St. John’s Boulevard in suburban Montreal to cheer on the Olympic torchbearers.

“It was absolutely incredible,” canoeist and Olympic medallist Tom Hall said of his 300-metre run with the fire. “There was just so many people, it was amazing.”

Before the run, Hall spoke about how, as a six-year-old, he and his family had cheered on his sister’s best friend who had been a torchbearer in the Calgary Games. “It was a massive influence in my life,” he said.

Students from Montreal school boards who had been bused in for the event lined the streets, stood on snowbanks, waved homemade and small Canadian flags that had been handed out, sang songs, stamped their cold feet — and waited.

“It’s a big deal — it’s not like the Olympic flame comes through your town every day,” said Matthew Donovan as he and his friend, Felix Levesque-Pero, stood along the sidewalk waiting for the flame to arrive.

And it’s not everyday the flame’s smoke billows through the hallowed halls of Parliament.

In fact, Thursday’s visit to Ottawa marked the first time an Olympic torch has entered the House of Commons.

Members of Parliament chanted “Go Canada Go!” and snapped photos as the former skater Scott marched down the middle of the green-carpeted chamber, hoisting the torch into the air.

House Speaker Peter Milliken offered congratulations to the Olympic organizing committee and wished Canadian athletes well as they make their final preparations for the Games.

Already, more than 4,000 torchbearers have carried the flame across approximately 25,000 kilometres on its way to the opening ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games on Feb. 12, 2010.

Ottawa Citizen and Montreal Gazette

Colbert ignores U.S. speed skater who called him a jerk, for now

It's been two days worth of new episodes now and Stephen Colbert has suddenly stopped talking about his beloved Olympic speed skating team. It's a surprise since the man has given more props to his sponsorship of the team than Gatorade does for the Super Bowl.

That may be because team memberShani Davis called Colbert a "jerk" for running his smear campaign against the Canadians, a smear campaign that seemed to get the Canadians to back and give his team practice time on Canada's ice. It even almost seemed as though Colbert was going to address the name-calling in his opening "Who's Attacking Me Now" segment on Monday, but instead went into the comments made byWhite House Recovery Act Coordinator G. Edward DeSeve.

Should Colbert call out Davis for his name calling and more importantly, will he?


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Where to stay near the Vancouver Olympics?

1. 3 blocks to BC Place and the OPENING, VICTORY AND CLOSING CEREMONIES.
2. 5 blocks to OLYMPIC HOCKEY at Canada Hockey Place.
3. 2 blocks to the 2010 ABORIGINAL PAVILION, showcasing the best of Aboriginal culture to the world.
4. 3 blocks to the Georgia Street site for LIVE CITY VANCOUVER, a celebration area featuring free live entertainment, family fun and numerous activities.
5. 1 easy bus ride to Pacific Coliseum for FIGURE SKATING and SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING.
6. 1 very quick rapid transit ride to Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park for Olympic and Paralympic CURLING.

Located at Hamilton and Robson in the heart of downtown, this is really the ideal location. You will be within easy walking or transit of much of the Olympic action in Vancouver. No need to rent a car or deal with the stress of trying to drive in an unfamiliar and crowded city. Pedestrian-only thoroughfares pass through this neighborhood, linking event venues and celebration sites.

THE SUITE: 6th floor on the quiet side of the building, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full kitchen 1044 sq. ft. SLEEPS 6 with 2 on the fold-out couch in the large livingroom. For thawing out after winter sports, there is a gas fireplace in the livingroom and a jacuzzi soaker tub in the master suite. The apartment is wireless internet capable and has a washer and dryer in-suite. Welcome home.

AMENITIES: Get your day started with a session in the building’s gym. If the in-suite jacuzzi and fireplace don’t warm you enough, there is always the sauna andhot tub for relaxing at the end of the day. If you do decide to rent a car, you will have a parking spot in our secured underground garage.

PRICE: All prices are negotiable. $750 CAD/night, $9000 CAD for 2 weeks; 2 week minimum. Longer stays and Paralympic dates are available and negotiable.

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Pilots prepare for Winter Olympics TFRs

Posted by Meg Godlewski 

Pilots in the Pacific Northwest are being inundated with information about the Temporary Flight Restrictions stemming from the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic games in Vancouver, British Columbia.

For safety and security reasons, Air Transport Canada has established TFRs that will extend into the United States for the duration of the games (Feb. 12-28). The TFR consists of two conjoined rings within a 30 nautical mile radius of the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and the Whistler’s Athlete’s Village. Within in these rings there will be three Olympic Control Areas (OCA). Within the OCAs there will be seven Olympic Restricted Areas. The three U.S. airports in the TFR are Point Roberts (1RL), Meadow Mist (WN35) and Waldronaire Airport (90WA).

Air operations within these areas will be limited to emergency security and authorized essential service and media aircraft only.

Pilots who violate the TFR will be intercepted by military aircraft. In order to avoid this, both Air Transport Canada and the FAA have embarked on an extensive public information campaign to inform pilots of the special procedures.

Developing procedures for the Olympics was not a quick process, notes Minard Thompson, Jr., the FAA Safety Team (FAAST) coordinator for the Seattle Flight Standards District office.

“The 2010 Olympic TFR plan was developed and refined over a period of two months,” he said. “It was immediately recognized that our primary responsibility was to educate the pilots in the Northwest Mountain Region, which encompasses the states of Washingtion, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. There are over 66,000 registered airmen in these states — each having the potential for flying to the Vancouver, B.C., area during the Olympics. Additionally, other airmen from all over the United States needed to have the information available to them if they were planning on visiting the British Columbia area during the Olympics.”

Reaching all those pilots is a challenge, he admits. The FAA is attempting to do so by a combination of online announcements and expanded educational briefings held around the Pacific Northwest.

“The FAASTeam utilized its e-mail network and sent out over 250,000 e-mails in one day,” he said. “Along with our other contacts obtained through the planning process for the Olympic airspace restrictions, we probably doubled that number of e-mails in one day. Our contacts led to other organizations’ e-mail lists and it would be easy to estimate that over 750,000 e-mails were sent in the course of a couple days to pilots all over the United States. Our e-mails led to newspaper and television news articles as well.

“In addition, a color poster was developed by Johanna Forkner from the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization Operations Support Group, and we have started distribution of the posters to many FBOs in the Northwest Mountain Region,” he continued.

“If you Google ‘2010 Olympic Airspace restriction’ you come up with 126,000 hits on places to go for information about the TFR and Canada’s Class F airspace restrictions,” he concluded.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Travel Tips and Budget Advice

by Matt Moore


Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada will host the 21st Winter Olympic Games from February 12th to 28th, 2010. Followed by the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12th to 21st, 2010. The events will take place in and around Vancouver, as well as in the resort town of Whistler, some 100km to the north. There are several characteristics of Vancouver which make it stand out from all previous Winter Olympic venues. Firstly, it will be the most populous city ever to host the Winter Olympics. Secondly, it will almost certainly be the warmest, with the average temperature in February of 4.8 degrees Celsius. Thirdly, some of the venues will be at, or near, sea level, something which is very rare for a Winter Olympic venue. Unusual though these characteristics may be, they are actually all good news for visitors to the 2010 Winter Olympics as the large city means there are more local facilities and a wider range of hotels, it won`t be quite so cold and some of the venues aren`t so hard to get too!

The first thing to make sure of when planning your trip to the Olympics is that you have the correct documentation. All international visitors require a passport to obtain entry to the country. Visitors from most countries also need a visa, although if you are a citizen of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, Japan, the Republic of Korea, or Australia, you are exempt and do not require a visa. Vancouver International Airport has lots of flights to and from many airports. It may be possible to get a cheaper ticket by getting an indirect flight and having to change planes. This will take longer and will be more hassle, but if you are on a budget it may well be worth hunting around for the best deal. Unfortunately, as Canada is such a vast country the option of flying to another major international airport in Canada and then driving to Vancouver is not particularly appealing. Although you are more likely to be able to get a good value ticket to another Canadian airport around the time of the Olympics, you will be faced with a very long drive. For example, from the nearest major city, Calgary, it would take around 10-11 hours to reach Vancouver. One of our best suggestions is to look at flying into Seatac International Airport just south of Seattle,Washington in the United States. Especially because we've found some very appealing accommodations south of the border with direct public transportation available.

Once you are in Vancouver the fact that there is no spectator parking at any of the Olympic venues means that public transport is just about your only way to get around. Fortunately, as travel on the TransLink and BC Transit Systems (basically all public transport) is free if you have a valid ticket for an Olympic event on that day, there will be no additional cost for travelling around. This includes both travelling to Olympic venues and any other sightseeing you can squeeze into the day; so be sure to make the most of your free allowance. For those days when you don`t have tickets for events you will have to purchase travel tickets to get around. Alternatively, if you are planning a long stay, you can get a limited edition Olympic souvenir pass, which is valid for the entire month of February. Getting out to the Olympic venues at Whistler and Cypress Mountain is an altogether more expensive affair, which requires advanced preparation. You must purchase a ticket for the Olympic Bus Network, which will be valid for a return trip from a designated point in Vancouver to the destination that the event is at. You must book in advance and it is particularly wise to book before the 4th of January because all the fares double on this day!

As Vancouver and the surrounding area is a popular holiday destination even without the Olympics, there are many hotels to choose from at all budget levels. The key to getting the best deal is to book well in advance. If you are on a tight budget, bear in mind that the further afield you look from the Olympic venues the better deal you will find. This is probably the best value option, especially as public transport is free if you have Olympic tickets. As you are visiting during the Olympics it is obvious that you won`t get as much for your money in and around Vancouver because the demand will be so unusually high. However, there are other places you can stay where you will get a lot more from your accommodation than just a room to stay in during the Olympics.

Vancouver is very close to the border between the USA and Canada. This makes staying in the US a good option to look for cheap holidays, especially if you stay near a direct train route to Vancouver. Looking in Washington State north of Seattle there are particularly attractive accommodations on Camano Island. This is an ideal location, as it is within easy reach of the main train station at Stanwood, with direct trains to Vancouver. Camano Island`s Eagles Nest is a particularly fine example of luxury accommodation you would have to pay an absolute fortune for in Vancouver, but you could have at a reasonable price on Camano Island. It is perfect for a large family, or group, as it sleeps ten people and includes such luxuries as a hot-tub, games room, sports court, and multiple fireplaces, and wonderful views looking out over the water towards the snowcapped mountains to make your stay truly special. For anyone who wants to do more on their holiday than just go to the Olympics the area offers many activities, such as boating, kayaking, hiking, and golfing. In addition, it is well known for its wildlife and is very popular with bird-watchers. It really is an excellent place to stay, particularly if you want the Olympics to be something you visit whilst on holiday as opposed to the sole reason for your trip. It's perfect if you would like to be able to spend some quality time relaxing away from the inevitable crowds in Vancouver.

Torch relay brings Olympic dreams to Quebec

RIVIERE-DU-LOUP, Que. — The Olympic flame began its first of a 13-day stint in Quebec on Sunday and brought with it a Canadian medal hopeful who made his hometown of Riviere-du-Loup stand up and cheer.

Speedskater Guillaume Bastille ran with the torch from the top of a hill into his former high-school yard Sunday to light a celebratory cauldron.

As he made his way to the podium, the crowd of about 2,500 people chanted his name: “Guillaume, Guillaume, Guillaume!”

Others had made big signs with his picture and the name St. Modeste, the village where he was born, located a few kilometres outside Riviere-du-Loup.

His hockey former coach, who saw him put on skates for the first time, said he wouldn’t have missed the event for anything.

“I’ve seen him grow up and train and I hope he’s going to achieve his dream of winning a medal at the Olympics,” said Simon Dube.

Bastille was introduced on the stage as the “local hero” who is making everyone proud.

“Hero is too big of a word for me. I just feel like I’m a messenger. I’m bringing the flame to the people of Riviere-du-Loup to share with them the amazing spirit of the Olympics,” Bastille said.

His flame was lit by his sister Andreanne who ran in the relay just before him.

“It was a unique moment to be there with her. Coming down the hill and seeing all those people gathered there really gave me a big boost of energy,” said the Canadian speedskating relay team member.

“It’s going to help me get through the next two months of training,” he added.

Bastille passed the flame to Claudie Fournier, the head of the local speedskating club where he first started to train.

Fournier ran with a group of 20 speedskaters in the streets of Riviere-du-Loup. This mother of two, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001, never let her illness discourage her.

“I’ve always been a very positive person and a very active one. It became even more important to me to stay in shape and healthy after I was diagnosed,” she said.

The day began with the flame leaving Edmundston, N.B., and making its way into Quebec under blue skies.

People lined streets of the dozen villages with flags and noisemakers in hand to catch a glimpse of the flame.

In Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Que., about 60 kilometres from Riviere-du-Loup, Mathieu Roy was the hero of his small town for a day as he held the flame high above his head running into the downtown area.

Villagers gathered to watch the 24-year-old autistic man get closer to his dream of one day attending the Olympics.

“He wanted to be a volunteer for the Vancouver Games, but it’s a bit too far from here,” said his mother, Andree Colin. “When he heard that the relay was coming to Quebec, he registered and was chosen,” she said.

Since he heard the news, Roy has been living for this day, taking long walks in his town every day to get into shape.

And he savoured every moment of the 300 metres he carried the flame.

“It was super, super,” he said afterward. “I’m really happy.”

His father said this is a moment his son will cherish forever. “We are so proud of him,” said Gilles Roy.

The Olympic flame moved 239 kilometres closer to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on Sunday and ended its day in Rimouski, Que.

There, Canada’s greatest male cross-country skier, Pierre Harvey, kicked off the celebrations.

Harvey, who was born in Rimouski, was the first male athlete from Canada to compete in two different Olympics in the same year. That was 1984, at the Los Angeles Summer Games and the Sarajevo Winter Games.

At the 1988 Games in Calgary, the last time the Olympics were held in Canada, Harvey was chosen to recite the Athlete’s Oath at the opening ceremonies. This time around, Harvey will return to the Vancouver Olympics as a cross-country skiing announcer.

He will have to comment on the performance of his son Alex who is part of the Canadian team.

“It’s going to be very emotional. He finished third last year at a World Cup where I was working as a commentator and my voice was quivering as I watched him come back from behind to finish third,” Harvey said.

On Monday, the relay will make its way from Rimouski to Matane, Que., and from there on the ferry across the St. Lawrence River to Baie-Comeau, Que.

The Olympic torch’s 45,000-kilometre trek began Oct. 30 in Victoria and made its way through the northern tips of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, also making stops in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

It has since zigzagged across Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.

The relay will see the torch carried into 1,000 communities, before it reaches its final destination, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver on Feb. 12, 2010.

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