Making magic moments

August 24, 2012

February 7, 2014 is circled on many calendars.

The day the Olympic cauldron will be lit in Sochi, Russia is marked with great anticipation of Winter Olympic magic for all of Canada and the world.

Canada’s Winter and Summer athletes, though, will circle a different day: Tomorrow.

Months before capturing a gold medal in London, Trampolinist Rosie MacLennan said she “wanted it enough to do whatever it takes”.

She did just that. But, gold medal or not, it’s in these days and weeks and months before any Olympic competition when Canada’s athletes create the possibility to share a magical moment with their country. We saw it during a ground-breaking performance in Vancouver. And in London, we saw it again.

We saw MacLennan’s training and driven attitude prove fruitful for Canada and she was not alone. We saw a historic women’s soccer team show this country what we can achieve with focus and raw support. We saw some surprise medals from Derek Drouin in High Jump and Christine Girard in Weightlifting. We saw an incredible final Olympic performance from Brent Hayden in the pool. We saw 277 Canadian Olympic athletes show the world what is possible.

Flag Bearer and four-time Olympian Simon Whitfield said it best:

“We work so hard so we can express it on competition day,” he said. “That’s what (the Olympic Games) are about.”

Indeed, these are expressions of hard work. But more importantly, they are expressions of what is possible, even in the lessons we take from heartbreak.

Looking back at the magic of London and images of the moments forever worth celebrating, it’s important remember how they came to be. These images are not examples of what Canada’s athletes can accomplish on a particular day, they are examples of what can be accomplished every day.