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The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 1, 2004 - D3 Pine Grove cross country team welcomes an Olympic hero Ten years ago, Adam van Koeverden was in an Oakville elementary school (St. John's) in Grade 8, not very active and, in his own words, not particularly good at any sport. Last week, the longtime Burloak Canoe Club mem ber was back at an Oakville elementary school (Pine Grove), with an Olympic gold medal to prove he was the fastest kayaker in the world over 500 metres. And, of course, he also brought along his bronze medal which he earned by placing third over 1,000 metres. He was Canada's only double medal winner in Athens and the first Canadian to double-medal at an Olympics since 1996 when another Oakville resi dent, Donovan Bailey, the former world's fastest man, won gold in both the 100metre sprint and the relay. And those two followed in the footsteps of another prominent Oakville athlete who also accomplished the same feat in 1984. That would be Larry Cain, of course, who won gold over 500m and silver over 1.000m. Van Koeverden dropped into Pine Grove last Thursday to help their peren nial powerful cross country team celebrate another out standing year at their annual team banquet. The friendly reception was led by student Kendra Lang, a member of Pine Grove's cross country team, but also a member of the Burloak Canoe Club's youth program. And making the \IIR Hr special presenta tion to van Koeverden were two stu dents who, themselves, are no stranger to the podium. Both Lindsay Stenason, in tyke girls, and Dave Watson, in atom boys, won individ ual cross country gold in both their East Halton and all-Halton meets. Students in the K-toGrade 6 school and visitors were treated to the thrilling CBC replay of van Koeverden's triumphant win and. of course, his joyous, from-the-heart, follow-up interview. Following a short but inspiring speech, van Koeverden than took ques tions from the young athletes in the Pine Grove gym. It must have been a wel come change for van Koeverden, who has not shied away from his thoughts on the state of ama teur sport in Canada when pressed by the national media. Here, in a crowded Oakville gym, the young athletes had other pressing issues on their m in d ... ... Like how fast can he get that kayak up to? Van Koeverden explained that his Olympic 500m race was a per sonal best time a and therefore the fastest he has ever gone at roughly 19 km. per hour. A good runner, he said, could probably keep the pace, but most people would be more comfortable keep ing pace on a bicycle. ... and where does he go to school? He said he takes kinesiol ogy at McMaster University. To which one young student was astounded. Clasping her head in her hands, she exclaimed: "Oh my God. my aunt goes there." ... and his favourite ice cream? Vanilla. ... and what were the red huoys in the water? Lane markers. ... did he have fu n in Athens? You bet. He was among his family and some of his best friends. And he won gold. It doesn't get much better. "Probably the best two weeks of my life." ... when did he start kayaking? "In Grade 8." ... where was he bom? Toronto. But he quickly pointed out that his family moved to Oakville when he was two years old. He said he has only attended three schools in his life -- St. John's, Loyola Secondary School (both in Oakville) and now McMaster University (in Hamilton). No, there were no nation al sports issues resolved on this afternoon. Just a gym full of kids, who after meeting a person able Olympic hero from their own home town, might just be inspired to work harder in school, play harder in sports and try harder to achieve their own goals. And perhaps even make the Olympics, like van Koeverden. In fact, John Mark Deneau. the Pine Grove teacher who has spear head ed the school's formidable cross country program, explained that a former stu dent, Kyle Jones, is also gunning for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Jones, who was a cross country star for both Pine Grove and later Q.E. Park High School (achieving a couple of fourth place finish es at the OFSAA provincial high school championships), is now one of the country's Olympic hopefuls in triathlon. Peter McCusker* O a kville B e a ve r Olympic hero Adam van Koeverden received thunderous applause when the CBC feed of his Olympic gold m edal race was replayed a t Pine Grove. Ice Exasperation `dads' are back (Continued from page D1) team who will bring smiles to spectators with their upbeat routine, and the pre novice girls who will increase the tempo with a calypso number. The evening also includes an appearance by the elite synchro team Fu'^om who hold sixth place in world standings after the 2004 World Championships in Croatia and received a silver medal at the 2004 BMO Canadian Championships in Brandon, Manitoba. Fusion offers a dazzling display of speed and intricate foot manoeuvres and is a tremendous addition to the gala lineup as their practice and competitive schedule is so intense. The gala will also feature the two-time Canadian championik rtd fcfe junior team and the Gold Ice junior festival team as well as the Mississauga Skating Club's masters team. And then of course there's the Dad's team. Ice Exasperation, which always offers the crowd some comedic relief whether they mean to or not, with their interpretation of their daughters' sport. The program will also offer some of the top skaters from the Q iiL w i t e ^ t k a l i n g DO YOU SMOKE? WAIT TILL YOU SEE WHAT THE ANTI-TOBACCO FOLKS HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU. Early, in 2004, various anti-tobacco now do som ething about it. Click onto 6'lfltTlncluding Victoria Johnstone. Andre Kiere and Kristina DiClemente. As if that was n't enough, there will be lots of activity off-ice in the Pine Room where the Silent Auction bidding takes place and if previous years are any indication, be prepared for some unique items to be on display. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. when bidding begins with the show starting at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5. available from any member in advance, or at the door. groups held a public policy planning www.mychoice.ca, a new website devoted conference in T oronto. You d id n 't hear to the rights and interests o f adults w ho about it because you w eren't invited. choose to smoke. NCAA semis It's December and Diana Matheson is still playing soccer. And that can only be good news. The Oakville native helped the seventh seeded Princeton Tigers to a 3-1 win in last Friday's NCAA quarterfinal game against 15th seed ed Washington. Matheson set up Princeton's opening goal on a long chip. The NCAA final four is on tap this weekend, with Princeton (19-2) meeting UCLA (17-6) Friday at 2 p.m. in a game that will be shown on ESPN2 in the U.S. Matheson is a fixture on Canada's national women's team. She was named the Ivy League rookie of the year and is in con tention for the national honour. WWW.MYCHOICE.CA W hat did they discuss? Banning With enough people, www.mychoice.ca sm oking on restaurant patios. Banning can quickly becom e a powerful lobby sm oking in hotels and m otels. And group, strong enough to bring fairness and introducing legislation to control w hen balance to sm oking related public policy. and w here you can sm oke in your car and O r you can do nothing. Just wait and in your hom e. see. And you can bet that the sm oke If you're an adult sm oker and you police will be right there with you in your think this is taking things too far, you can car and in your hom e. It's your choice. 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