Ryan Bennett, left, has his Olympic Torch lit by Mathew Piccioni, centre, in Brampton, Ont.Friday, December 18, 2009. Bennett carried the Torch by sledge hockey sled, a first in Olympic Torch Relay history.Photograph by: Brett Gundlock, National PostHAMILTON — Day 51 of the Olympic torch relay ended as it began Saturday — with boisterous revellers celebrating the passing of the flame in the Canadian cold.
The atmosphere at the day-ending community celebration in Hamilton was slightly smaller, colder and darker than when the torch set out from Toronto in the morning, but the crowd was excited nonetheless when torchbearer Ron Foxcroft ran through the crowd.
Foxcroft, a pro-basketball referee for over 35 years, is known as the inventor of the Fox 40 whistle — which has no moving parts and is used by professional sports organizations.
“This is a life-changing moment,” said Fox. “I’m a lifer Hamiltonian and Canadian and this is unbelievable.”
Songwriter John Ellis and Juno-award-winning singer Tom Wilson were among entertainers, and to bookend the lighting of the cauldron seven former Olympians from the community were invited onstage.
But the running tribute by hosts, presenters and dignitaries alike was to Dr. Gene Sutton — a lifelong supporter of amateur sport in Hamilton and across Canada, who died last August at the age of 64.
“She was a great believer in the Olympic spirit,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger.
The morning was cold, too, but not quite cold enough to suit torchbearer Barbara Calderone in Mississauga.
“I prefer running in the winter,” said Calderone, a stay-at-home mother of two. “I like the cold air, I like the sound of the snow when I run on it — it’s like our sand in Canada.”
She’s a self-described “proud Canadian” who trains six times a week and ran the Boston Marathon twice. A lack of the white stuff, then, was never likely to hinder her 300-metre leg of the relay. Her only anxiety was a wish to get through without crying in public.
“Seeing my kids, seeing their faces watch me, seeing my husband,” said Calderone. “The pride in being a Canadian is just amazing.”
It was a pride shared by thousands of residents who showed up at a community celebration down by Mississauga’s City Hall, when the torch made a midday stop.
They took time out of their last holiday shopping weekend to wave flags and rattle tambourines. Cameras at the ready, and Canada Olympic gear on, they stopped to pose with hockey players on stilts and the Vancouver 2010 mascot, Quatchi.
Late in the morning, crowds surrounded the stage to watch performances by aboriginal singers, Afro-Franco Canadian dancers and a South Asian dance academy that specializes in the art of Bharata Natayam.
Percussionists, rhythmic gymnasts and MCs kept frostbite at bay, pumping up the crowd with music and cheering in the run-up to the flame’s debut in this west-of-Toronto community.
“The Olympic flame is ours here in Mississauga, Ont.,” was shouted over and over again, as the crowd joined in a spontaneous and enthusiastic round of O Canada.
Cheers for the flame’s reception were rivalled only by chants for Mayor Hazel McCallion, in her Olympic gear.
“Mississauga did it again!” she proclaimed from the stage. “Thousands of you here today ... what a delight, what an inspiration!”
McCallion praised the families and young people for turning out and supporting what she called a symbol of the “peace and harmony” identified with Canada, the “best country in the world.”
“We need more gold medallists from Canada at the Olympics,” she said.
The flame arrived in Mississauga at noon, carried onto the stage by former national women’s hockey team member and two-time Olympic gold medallist Cheryl Pounder.
Pounder said carrying the torch and lighting the community cauldron was an experience that went “hand in hand” with winning gold at Salt Lake City and Turin.
“It was unbelievable,” she said. “Seeing my community and my family, I started crying instantaneously.”
The Olympic Cauldron will be lit in Vancouver on Feb. 12, 2010, to open the Games.
National Post
Source:montrealgazette.com/
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