Announcements
Gold Medal Character
by Bruce Hildebrandt
Recently, people on the radio were talking about their proudest Olympic moments. Some mentioned the winning of Canada's first gold on home soil, some mentioned the spirit of Joannie Rochette after losing her mother. There were almost as many different responses as there were callers.
For me there are many, but the three stand out to me and all share a common denominator.
The first occurred at the speed skating oval. Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen were standing disappointed at their "poor" finishes. Then Kristina Groves skated and finished with a bronze. Well you would have thought that Cindy and Clara had won the Stanley Cup! They were so excited! In fact it looked like they were even more excited than Kristina.
The second was the response of the Canadian skier, Vincent Marquis, as he sat in the bronze medal position watching Alexandre Bilodeau come down the mogul run. When Bilodeau's gold medal result was 
announced, Vincent was bumped into fourth place. No more medal for him. His response.... he was jumping up and down and cheering for his team mate. He selflessly ran down and celebrated the accomplishment of the one who had knocked him off of the podium.
The third was the response of the two-woman bobsled team of Helen Upperton and Shelley-Ann Brown. They were sitting in the gold medal position as Canada's final team came down the track. When Moyse and
Humphries crossed the finish line with the fastest time Upperton and Brown lost the gold medal. Their response... they were screaming for joy over the success of their team mates.
These were very moving responses for me. I guess that I'm so used to seeing athletes who are all about themselves. I'm used to seeing millionaire hockey players refusing to play if they don't get their way. We seem to live in an "all about me" society. It is SO refreshing to see these Olympians who have spent countless hours in training and sacrificing in order to get their shot at an Olympic medal, yet who are able to genuinely share the joy in the success of their team mates. I wish that there were medals given for quality of character because these athletes deserve them.