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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