Le May Doan talks about sports mettle with students
Two-time Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist Catriona Le May Doan embodied passion for sport during her visit to the Centennial College Sports Journalism Program.
While pulling her three Olympic Medals out of their wool socks and passing them around the room, the 2002 Lou Marsh Award winner delivered an inspiring retelling of her experiences both as an athlete and more recently as a speed skating colour commentator.
During her Feb. 23rd appearance, the Canadian Sports Hall of Famer reiterated class instructor Scott Russell’s daily message of “Sport is about passion.”
“It comes down to passion,” Le May Doan said. “Having a course like this where people understand sport and are allowed to express their passion for sport, male or female, that’s what’s great”
After her retirement from skating, and as she got into commentating, Le May Doan was sent to the Pan American Games with no training and was forced to learn as she went along. Asked if she would have preferred a course like this she replied with a resounding “Yes.”
She went on to discuss the importance of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the lasting impression it will have on sports in Canada.
“I’m product of the legacy of 1988, of the training facilities [and] of what happened there and I’m a legacy of being inspired by people like Gaetan Boucher,” said Le May Doan. “The kids that are going to watch this… are going to have dreams [of] represent Canada one day.”
Le May Doan will be part of the CTV Broadcasting team for at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
