The Best Paralympic Winter Games Ever!

	And I didn’t say it – Sir Phillip Craven, the President of the International Paralympic Committee did – on national TV live. I did think they were, but of course I am biased. Never before was the combination of thorough preparation, impeccable execution and unbridled enthusiasm present to this extent. Not even the pouring rain during the outdoor closing ceremonies could curb the energy of the athletes and volunteers. Even the Mounties, who were trying to keep a serious look, quit trying after a while. I managed – finally – to get to Nordic skiing and watched the sprint preliminaries. Then I had to quickly drive to Whistler village – about 35 minutes away – for a quick protocol function with Prince Edward. I had met his brother Andrew several years ago and he was equally pleasant and friendly. I commented on the nice GB Paralympics jacket he is wore and that I actually own GB Paralympic clothes that I traded from previous games, but that this time would be a challenge because their chef de mission, Tanya, is actually quite petite. He’s quite a fan and supporter of Paralympics and knows her well and without skipping a beat, he says “I don’t think Phil is your size either”. Phil Lane is the CEO of GB Paralympics, a former school principal who brought to the British Paralympic Committee a level of professionalism we are trying to emulate. Phil is indeed a size or two bigger than I am and we have a good chuckle. We discussed policy levers to encourage physical activities for people with disabilities and other interesting topics, but I’ll probably remember the “Phil comment” best. I zoomed back to Nordic just in time to see Brian McKeever win his third Gold medal. He used a trick he practiced last year during the test event. Even though this is a Classic ski race and not a skate race, he choose to use skate skis and foregoes the grip wax to get better speed going downhill. However, he cannot skate the uphill and had to double pole the whole way up, quite the athletic feat. But it paid off; he even finished ahead of his guide who stayed with the traditional wax. On the podium, you may have noticed a Swedish kid who won Bronze in a tough field. Their team doctor told me they were never expecting him to medal – he just turned 15 a few weeks ago and hasn’t quite finished growing! A fine finish to the competition. We finish 3rd overall in Gold medals and in total medal count, eclipsing our best ever finish of 6th in Torino. You don’t achieve your stretch goals everyday and we’re very proud of what the team has accomplished. I made a quick clothes change and we held a press conference to announce our closing ceremony flag bearer, the well deserving Lauren Wolstencroft. Sir Phillip actually mentioned by name Lauren, Brian & Viviane as “new Canadian heroes”. Between the three of them, they have 13 of our 19 medals, and nine out of ten Gold medals. I tease Lauren that she just cracked a smile after crossing the finish line. She brushes it off saying “I was really happy” – but through the evening, it started to sink in. During the media scrum, you can see he starting to comprehending that she is indeed a national role model, with all the pressures and responsibilities attached to it. She barely escaped the closing ceremonies – people approached the fence and they all wanted their picture taken with her. I rode the bus back with VANOC officials in charge of the Villages and we had a good discussion about how one gets addicted to Paralympics. Najeet started as a volunteer in Sydney, Dan as a worker in Atlanta. Dan has now worked at running the villages since Salt Lake City (he is American) but told me he is going to be a full time dad in Vancouver for the next little while. That night was party time in the Village and most athletes are flying out tomorrow. Although we were all tired and could use a rest, this is the toughest time of all – when the games are over and we all go return  to our “normal” lives, leaving behind new and old friends we may, or may not, see again for years to come.

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