Here’s how some of Canada’s top athletes reacted to the news of Toronto’s Pan Am win:
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, Whitby, Olympic bronze medalist. and world championship silver medalist hurdler
“I’m excited. I can’t wipe the smirk off my face. It’s going to uplift sport in Canada. You’re going to have a lot of people excited, you’re going to have a lot of people joining in. It’s going to bring the community together, I believe. You bring in something big like that and it’s going to get more people involved and it’s going to have a positive domino effect. When something’s positive, it rolls off and it keeps going.”
“I remember growing up and seeing all these athletes on TV and wondering ‘How cool would it be if I could do that. It kind of escalated from there and my dreams became reality. To have it in your backyard, oh, it’s going to seem all that more real. It’s almost like you can reach out and touch the athletes and be part of it, whether the younger generation’s volunteering or they’re just there to watch and have a good time.”
Adam van Koeverden, Oakville, Olympic and world kayaking champion
“It’s a huge opportunity. How we embrace that opportunity is to be determined. Canada has always said we need a reason to provide infrastructure. This is kind infrastructure in Toronto and surrounding area is long overdue. There’s no better sort of impetus to provide it.”
“Kids will look up to the athletes that are competing and look up to the Pan Ams as a big celebration of sports excellence in our city and surrounding community. It will have a big impact on grassroots sport, not just in the generation of kids who are going to watch but also in the next generation of kids who will use the facilities that they’re going to create. “I think the legacy of a multi-sports games is the test of the success, not just the country’s medal count at that given Games. I think the long-term impact and the use of those facilities and the infrastructure is a real test of whether or not it was a success.
“Calgary was a great success. How many Olympic champions were generated out of the infrastucture that the Calgary Games provided athletes in Canada with? I don’t know if I can say the same thing for the Montreal Olympics. I don’t know if there was anything left behind for the athletes to really take advantage.
”I’m in Banff, Alberta, right now, sitting and watching the snow fall. I drove Canada Olympic Park today (in Calgary) and the Nordic Centre in Canmore. Countless Olympic medalists have come out of those facilities and they wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t those Games.”
Perdita Felicien, Pickering, former world champion and world champion silver medalist hurdler
“There is no sports infrastructure in the GTA. That’s what I’m most excited about. If you think about the facilities that I even train at (at York University), they’re not up to par, they’re not world class at all. I think 2015 is going to force the government to provide facilties that hopefully are going to have a lasting legacy for decades and decades to come. And then bring in more interest and more opportunities for us to host the world. Hopefully, this will lead to a Summer Olympics or a Commonwealth Games.”
Felicien thinks she might still even be competing
. “Brigitte (Foster-Hylton) plans on defending her world championship in 2011. I’m laughing out of pure respect, because it kind of sounds funny. I think she will be 37 or 36. So it’s not inconceivable for me to think about 2015. And the fact that Toronto is hosting it, hey, it would be parallel to Glenroy (Gilbert) and Donovan (Bailey) going out at the 2001 worlds in Edmonton. It would be great to go out in the Pan Am Games at home. Whether or not I’ll be there, I really don’t know. But it’s definitely something to think about and it definitely is tempting. But this is my 29-year-old self talking.”
Ohenewa Akuffo, Brampton, Olympic wrestler and world championship bronze medalist
“It’s going to be amazing for the country and the city, because we get to host another international Games. We’re just going to be hosting the Winter Olympics and now we get a summer component of an equally huge Games. I believe Toronto’s up for it. You think about the international things that come through Toronto, the different festival and events. Why not a sporting one? Everybody wants to come to Toronto. Everyone’s going to be excited to get the opportunity to compete in Toronto. I think it’s going to ignite the sports community. It’s going to bind the country together.”
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