A couple of Sundays ago, while out for my daily pandemic walk, I received a FaceTime call that has left me smiling ever since.
One of my old friends was on the other line. He held up a sign: “I’m going to the Olympics!” he read Tears streamed down my face.
I met Jennifer (JJ) Hawkrigg, who competes on Team Canada in alpine snowboarding, when we were only 11 years old. Her mother recently unearthed a letter that she wrote to herself that year.
“I’m in seventh grade right now and can’t wait until the rest of the year is over,” she wrote to herself.
“I’m on the field hockey team and I’m going to try out for the volleyball team next term. Outside of school, I play hockey, snowboarding, soccer, and basketball.”
“My dream is to go to the Olympics. But it probably won’t happen.”
Not many of us have such big dreams. Certainly not. But I have had the unique pleasure of seeing one of my best friends pursue and fulfill her dream, and she has been just as sweet.
JJ would be the first to tell you that it hasn’t been easy: Years of skipping school, parties and events. Spending months away from home, traveling to a new country every few days to compete against the best athletes in the world. Injuries, setbacks, moments wondering if it’s all worth it.
I have always seen JJ as a professional athlete. But more than that, to me, she’s just a great friend. Someone I’ve traveled with, who has applauded my and others’ successes as much as hers, who loves to gossip over a glass of wine as much as I do.
This year’s Games are not what JJ expected when he was eleven years old. Many have questioned whether the Olympics should ever take place.
In the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes are kept within a “closed circle” away from the rest of the country where they are tested for the virus every day. There are no fans in the stands.
JJ’s incredibly supportive family, who I know would love to be there, will be cheering her on at home.
Growing concern about human rights abuses in China has prompted some countries, including Canada, to keep their diplomats at home in protest. Athletes are boycotting the opening ceremonies. Canadians have been told not to speak ill of China while they are there.
But beneath these very legitimate concerns remains the Olympics: the world’s biggest sporting event, one that young children dream of and work for all their lives.
More than half of Canada’s 215 athletes this year are making their Olympic debut. One of them is my friend JJ. This year’s team, the third largest in Canadian history, also has the most women with 106 competing.
The Olympic Games have never been my dream. I tried snowboarding once and I’m terrible at it. But in a way, it feels like I’m there too. This was especially true the other day when JJ FaceTimed from his room in Zhangjiakou, the ski resort area 200 kilometers from Beijing where snow sports take place, to show off his team gear. Canada.
This year when I watch the athletes from Canada compete, I will think of JJ and all the other rookies who have been dreaming of this moment since they were young. I will also be thinking of your friends and family who, like me, can experience this incredible feeling of joy and pride from the sidelines.
JJ will be competing in the Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom on Monday night Toronto time at 9:40 pm Cheer her on with me!
Reference-www.thestar.com