KARA GRANT
The Guardian, February 22, 2010
A quiet moment at English Bay, downtown Vancouver
Running in Stanley Park is a daily adventure and I’m starting to recognize many of the other regulars. One of my favorite sights is that of a man riding his recumbent bike with his Pekinese in a special basket behind his seat, at head height. His Royal Highness (the Pekinese) regally keeps watch as they travel the seawall around Stanley Park in style. After a nice run, I like to stop at English Bay to sit on the sandy beach, or on one of the giant tree trunks that serve as seating for those of us would like to have a tranquil moment by the ocean only minutes from downtown Vancouver. These quiet moments allow me to catch my breath as the action never stops here at the Olympic Games. I keep a close eye on the schedule so as to take in any as many events as possible through live broadcast at Canada Olympic House.
Helen Hunt, 1956 Olympian and Cindy Crapper, Torchbearer
By now I’ve made lots of new friends, many of whom are the friends and family of competing athletes, or Olympians from previous Games. Recently, I met Mary McIlwaine who swam for Canada at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics. The previous day I had met her sister, Helen Hunt, a 1956 Olympian. Two incredible pioneers in women’s sport- I only hope I’m half as inspiring as they are, for the 50 years following my Olympic competitions! I also bumped into Sharon and Cyril Moyse, parents of Heather Moyse, our Island Bobsled athlete who will be competing in Whistler on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
Pentathletes showing support at Canada Olympic House
Sharon and Cyril and 22 others will be sporting special red and white support team hats, so I should be able to track them down at the Sliding Center without much trouble! As usual, Team Canada had ups and downs in Olympic sports action. I could hardly believe it when Christopher Delbosco fell at the last turn in the men’s skicross final. I was so disappointed, as I’m sure he was too. Our speedskaters have been performing well in these Games and it was incredibly exciting to see Kristina Groves take home a silver medal in the ladies 1500m event. Canada Olympic House was packed for the Canada versus USA men’s hockey game and I met up with Josh and Melanie, a couple of my pentathlon team mates who drove out from Calgary for the Olympics. Like the rest of Canada, we were on the edge of our seats in the final minutes of the hockey game, willing Canada to score again. Although we didn’t win, I’m convinced that if the Canadian team can play a full game like they did in the last few minutes of the game against the USA, there will be no stopping them. Buoyed by this thought, I decided it was time to get back to Atlantic Canada House to see an amazing Newfoundland band, Hey Rosetta! Good times were had, so much so that I’ll be back again tonight for Rawlins Cross before catching a bus to Whistler the following morning for the next stage of my Vancouver 2010 Olympic adventure.
