The excitement of a gold medal, a 17 – hour plane trip and more than 300 cheering home – town fans combined to make Anne Ottenbrite’s homecoming an emotional one.
“I am as proud to have this (gold chain from the town of Whitby) as the Commonwealth gold medal,” the 16 – year – old swimmer told a council chamber packed with loyal supporters last week.
Her visible emotion drew applause from friends, relatives and proud Whitby residents who attended a reception held by town officials, October 12.
Mayor Bob Attersley and Councillor Tom Edwards paid tribute to Anne’s success and the hard work which led to her victory in the 200 – metre breast stroke event, and the relay event at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia.
“To the names of Cindy Nicholas, and Marilyn Bell, add the name of Whitby’s Anne Ottenbrite,” Edwards told the cheering crowd.
“It takes a special kind of person to overcome adversity,” Edwards said, describing Anne’s reaction when she was beaten by her teammate in the 100 – metre breast stroke event. “There was no swearing or kicking of chairs. Anne just said, “What matters is my teammate won,” Edwards told the crowd.
Anne received flowers and a pendant with the town crest engraved on it. She will be on hand to re-open Iroquois Park pool on December 20.
Mayor Attersley challenged Anne to be a leader and to encourage participation in sport by local young people.
“We can’t always be winners,” Attersley said. “But we can lead people to participate…you have given many of the children in Whitby a reason to participate.”
Anne told reporters she felt really proud that so many people turned out to show their support.
“I wasn’t expecting anything like this at all,” she said.
Her parents, Joe and Flo Ottenbrite looked on with pride as Anne spoke with young swimmers from the Ajax “Smarties”, and signed the cast of Jodi McPhail, an 11 – year – old swimmer who broke both her arms in a bicycle accident last month.
Her coach Paul Meronen of Ajax, told the crowd he believed Anne has the potential to be an even better swimmer than she proved herself to be in Australia. Meronen said he has always been very proud of the Grade 11 student who is now internationally famous.
Anne told reporters she will be practicing early in the morning and late at night in preparation for the Pan American Games.
When asked about the 1984 Olympics, Anne said, “Hopefully I’ll be there.”
