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The Ottawa airport was dripping with pride Monday evening as a handful of Olympians returned home from Pyeongchang to a heroes’ welcome, complete with banners, signs, balloons, flowers and, of course, family and friends.
“It was everything I thought it was going to be,” freestyle skier Olivier Rochon said of his first Olympic participation after being a volunteer and an alternate at the Vancouver Games eight years ago and television analyst for the Sochi Games.
“I don’t think you realize what it’s like until you come back. All these people here, coming down the stairs and seeing my parents, the other families. It’s a really proud moment.”
Rochon was one of seven athletes to arrive, all with huge smiles, great stories and even some disappointment. Wrong colour medals or no medal at all didn’t really matter to those there to greet them.
“We did all the prep work we needed to,” said Emma Miskew, the third on Rachel Homan’s rink that didn’t qualify for the playoffs in women’s curling. “We just started off a little flat and it’s hard to run the field at an event like that when there are such great teams. We gave it our all. We just came up a little short.
“It was a unique experience off the ice being with all the other sports and other Olympians,” Miskew said. “That was an amazing experience. There are so many nice people and so many amazing athletes. It’s nice to wear the Maple Leaf and know that an entire country is supporting you and wishing you their best.”
Hockey player Geneviève Lacasse (L) signs an autograph for a fan Catherine Shortt at Ottawa airport on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018.
Teammate Lisa Weagle, the lead on the Homan rink, said that while they tried to treat the Games like any other event, it proved to be a challenge.
“We really wanted to soak it all in and really enjoy it,” Weagle said. “It was a much larger scale than we’re used to at a world championship with so much more going on. We tried to treat like any other curling event, but there were some elements that you just couldn’t.
“All the people in Korea were amazing. The volunteers were so friendly and everyone we met just made it such a great experience. I was really excited to walk in the Opening Ceremonies and that’s something I will never forget.”
Team Canada captain Chris Kelly arrives at Ottawa airport on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018.
Two hockey medallists did make their way back to Ottawa. Goaltender Genevieve Lacasse was wearing her silver medal. Former Ottawa Senator Chris Kelly, captain of the men’s team, was there but not sporting his bronze medal. Canada defeated the Czech Republic 6-4 in the third-place game.
“I was extremely impressed by the calibre of play from all the countries,” Kelly said. “I think in North America sometimes we’re in a little bubble and think that if a player doesn’t play in the NHL then they’re deemed not as good. I was extremely impressed.
“To me probably the biggest highlight was just sitting down and getting to hear what the other athletes go through. Just to see their journey to get to where they’re at is pretty cool.”
Lacasse made no attempt to hide her disappointment after the 3-2 shootout loss to the U.S. in the gold-medal game, but she put the loss into perspective.
“Not the colour we wanted, obviously, but I think in a couple of weeks it will sink in that we’re still Olympic silver medallists and that’s a pretty big accomplishment,” said Lacasse, who made 44 saves in a 2-1 win over the U.S. in the round robin.
“After we were done our games we got the chance to hang around with the other athletes and it was just awesome. It just feels super lucky to be Canadian and there’s so many great human beings on that Canadian Olympic team. Even though we only got the silver it was some of the best days of my life.”
Speedskater Vincent De Haitre was competing at his second Games and could take what he learned four years ago to build a better experience this time around.
“It was a pretty good experience and definitely different than my first Games,” De Haitre said. “I got to put together the things I learned from (Sochi) in terms of utilizing the support from the team, which I needed, I think Canada as a whole has the best people in terms of athletes and staff.
“The support that people show each other and the respect is outstanding and I really got to see that this time around.”
Mirela Rahneva was competing at her first Olympics as she took to the skeleton course with a bit of a heavy heart. He mother had died in June after a long battle with cancer.
“It was extremely emotional. I wish my mom was there to see it, so that was a little hard.,” she said before turning to the positive side of her experience.
“The host nation was incredible. They were kind and so helpful. I had a hell of a time cheering on some other badass Canadians in their competitions and it was a really fun time.”
Four years from now many of these same athletes will be recounting their experiences from Beijing, the site of the 2022 Games.
查看原文...
“It was everything I thought it was going to be,” freestyle skier Olivier Rochon said of his first Olympic participation after being a volunteer and an alternate at the Vancouver Games eight years ago and television analyst for the Sochi Games.
“I don’t think you realize what it’s like until you come back. All these people here, coming down the stairs and seeing my parents, the other families. It’s a really proud moment.”
Rochon was one of seven athletes to arrive, all with huge smiles, great stories and even some disappointment. Wrong colour medals or no medal at all didn’t really matter to those there to greet them.
“We did all the prep work we needed to,” said Emma Miskew, the third on Rachel Homan’s rink that didn’t qualify for the playoffs in women’s curling. “We just started off a little flat and it’s hard to run the field at an event like that when there are such great teams. We gave it our all. We just came up a little short.
“It was a unique experience off the ice being with all the other sports and other Olympians,” Miskew said. “That was an amazing experience. There are so many nice people and so many amazing athletes. It’s nice to wear the Maple Leaf and know that an entire country is supporting you and wishing you their best.”
Hockey player Geneviève Lacasse (L) signs an autograph for a fan Catherine Shortt at Ottawa airport on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018.
Teammate Lisa Weagle, the lead on the Homan rink, said that while they tried to treat the Games like any other event, it proved to be a challenge.
“We really wanted to soak it all in and really enjoy it,” Weagle said. “It was a much larger scale than we’re used to at a world championship with so much more going on. We tried to treat like any other curling event, but there were some elements that you just couldn’t.
“All the people in Korea were amazing. The volunteers were so friendly and everyone we met just made it such a great experience. I was really excited to walk in the Opening Ceremonies and that’s something I will never forget.”
Team Canada captain Chris Kelly arrives at Ottawa airport on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018.
Two hockey medallists did make their way back to Ottawa. Goaltender Genevieve Lacasse was wearing her silver medal. Former Ottawa Senator Chris Kelly, captain of the men’s team, was there but not sporting his bronze medal. Canada defeated the Czech Republic 6-4 in the third-place game.
“I was extremely impressed by the calibre of play from all the countries,” Kelly said. “I think in North America sometimes we’re in a little bubble and think that if a player doesn’t play in the NHL then they’re deemed not as good. I was extremely impressed.
“To me probably the biggest highlight was just sitting down and getting to hear what the other athletes go through. Just to see their journey to get to where they’re at is pretty cool.”
Lacasse made no attempt to hide her disappointment after the 3-2 shootout loss to the U.S. in the gold-medal game, but she put the loss into perspective.
“Not the colour we wanted, obviously, but I think in a couple of weeks it will sink in that we’re still Olympic silver medallists and that’s a pretty big accomplishment,” said Lacasse, who made 44 saves in a 2-1 win over the U.S. in the round robin.
“After we were done our games we got the chance to hang around with the other athletes and it was just awesome. It just feels super lucky to be Canadian and there’s so many great human beings on that Canadian Olympic team. Even though we only got the silver it was some of the best days of my life.”
Speedskater Vincent De Haitre was competing at his second Games and could take what he learned four years ago to build a better experience this time around.
“It was a pretty good experience and definitely different than my first Games,” De Haitre said. “I got to put together the things I learned from (Sochi) in terms of utilizing the support from the team, which I needed, I think Canada as a whole has the best people in terms of athletes and staff.
“The support that people show each other and the respect is outstanding and I really got to see that this time around.”
Mirela Rahneva was competing at her first Olympics as she took to the skeleton course with a bit of a heavy heart. He mother had died in June after a long battle with cancer.
“It was extremely emotional. I wish my mom was there to see it, so that was a little hard.,” she said before turning to the positive side of her experience.
“The host nation was incredible. They were kind and so helpful. I had a hell of a time cheering on some other badass Canadians in their competitions and it was a really fun time.”
Four years from now many of these same athletes will be recounting their experiences from Beijing, the site of the 2022 Games.
查看原文...
