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Canada’s Man in Motion, Rick Hansen, wheeled into Richmond’s O Zone celebration site with a huge smile on his face, giving high fives to members of the crowd and waving to everyone.
As he lit the Olympic cauldron Tuesday evening, fireworks went off, marking the official opening of a huge party in this Vancouver suburb that will be home to 12 days of long-track speed skating competition.
“We love you, Rick,” shouted a fan from the crowd, which was estimated at more than 15,000 people
“This is just overwhelming and what an amazing honour and privilege,” said Hansen, a longtime Richmond resident.
He said the Olympic flame symbolizes hope and possibility for everyone.
“We all strive to be the best we can be with what we have,” Hansen said. “Each and every one of you has goals and dreams. Never give up on your dreams.”
Hansen is a fitting hero to bring the flame to Richmond: since being paralysed from the waist down in a car crash at the age of 15, he’s won 19 international wheelchair marathons, including six medals as a Paralympian.
The Man in Motion World Tour saw Hansen wheel more than 40,000 kilometres through 34 countries, raising $26 million for spinal cord research. As president and CEO of the Rick Hansen Foundation, he has helped raise $200 million for spinal cord research.
“Rick is both an international hero and a tireless community volunteer,” Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said. “We’re proud to have him represent Richmond by carrying the torch and lighting the cauldron during our community celebration.
The 25th anniversary of the beginning of Hansen’s world tour coincides with the closing ceremony for the 2010 Paralympic Games on March 21, 2010.
Earlier, a crowd of thousands came out in a sea of red and white to welcome the Olympic flame to Richmond on Tuesday afternoon.
In front of South Arm Community Centre, one of the first stops along the 21-kilometre Richmond torch route, the crowd was filled with Canadian flags, funny hats, Canadian jerseys and kids with inukshuks painted on their faces.
Alan Sakai picked up the torch where Railway turns into Granville Avenue in Richmond, near the Thompson Community Centre. Sakai represented Canada in judo in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, but he’s much more than an Olympian in Richmond. Sakai is president of the Steveston Judo Club, a long-term soccer coach and a born-and-raised member of the Steveston community.
“I have all these little communities in Richmond that I’m honoured to represent,” Sakai said.
Sakai, 54, has been working as an educator in Richmond for more than 30 years, first as a teacher at Brighouse elementary, and now as principal at Hamilton elementary.
“Some of the kids I taught now have kids of their own in my school,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot in Richmond.”
Of his own Olympic experience, Sakai, who was 17 at the time, said political interference took away from what should have been a thrilling time.
“It was the Olympics where the Israeli athletes were abducted and killed, and that kind of ruined the experience,” he said. “But it’s an important piece of Olympic history.”
The final stretch of the relay passed through the Richmond Olympic Oval, which will host long-track speed skating during the Games. The award-winning venue will become a 23,000-square-foot fitness centre and multi-functional sport space after the Games.
Olympic baseball player Jimmy VanOstrand ran with the torch a bit further down the road. VanOstrand represented Canada in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, an experience the Houston Astros AA first baseman said was both humbling and inspiring.
He said he was honoured to run with the torch in his hometown, where he began playing with West Richmond Baseball Association.
“I grew up here. It’s a huge honour and really special to me to do this in front of my family and friends,” VanOstrand said.
The torch relay wrapped up with a big party at Richmond’s O Zone celebration site, the largest official celebration site for the 2010 Games at nearly 24 hectares. During the Games, the O Zone is expected to host about 15,000 people each day.
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