THUNDER BAY – Three years ago, Brianna Johnson competed at the Canada Winter Games in synchronized swimming, the pinnacle of her athletic career.
With those memories still fresh in her mind, the Lakehead University student on Thursday was one of 10 local athletes and dignitaries to take part in the first MNP Canada Games Torch Relay, the first time the Roly McLenahan torch has travelled coast to coast.
Johnson said carrying the torch was a chance to reminisce about taking part in the 2015 Games as part of Team Manitoba.
“That was a huge moment in my life and it was a huge achievement, so to be able to remember that and remember how it felt to be representing my province is really cool. It reminds me of the hard work and how amazing it is to be involved in sport,” Johnson said.
Now part of the Lakehead’s synchronized swimming team, Johnson said the competition is a stepping stone to help them realize what they’re working toward.
“For me it was something to work forward for, because I knew the Olympics weren’t in my realm of possibility,” Johnson said. “But it’s a really good thing to keep younger people in sport and be a stepping stone for future Olympians.”
One of between 600 and 700 people who applied to carry the torch along the cross-country route, Johnson said she had to write a detailed essay about why she deserved the honour, then answer even more questions before getting the call confirming her participation.
She wasn’t alone.
Lia Knudsen said it was her involvement in the fitness industry – she’s got a degree in kiniesiology – that earned her a spot in Thursday’s relay.
She couldn’t be happier.
“I was honoured to be able to represent our city and carry the torch. The Canada Winter Games is something I watch and am familiar with, so I was pretty happy with it,” Knudsen said. “It’s nice that (the Games) brings everybody together and there’s a sense of community involvement.”
The flame was lit from the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill, and is expected to arrive in Red Deer, Alta. ahead of the opening of the Games on Feb. 15, 2019. By then the torch will have visited 48 communities and been used in 26 relays and 22 celebration stops, including Kenora on Oct. 30.
Organizer Melanie Pare said holding the relay brings the country together ahead of next year’s Games.
“One of the founding principles of the Canada Games movement is unity through sport and being able to share a kind of similar moment in all these communities is one of the embodiments of what the Canada Games stand for.”
