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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, August 15, 2012 · 10 Fans there to give Olympians a hero's welcome By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville Olympians Adam van Koeverden and Diana Matheson were greeted Monday by a swarm of media and fans at Pearson International Airport as they returned from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The pair landed just after 2 p.m. and were among a group of Canadian athletes, including their teammates, to arrive in Toronto. "I'm thrilled to be part of this team and ecstatic to be home finally," van Koeverden said in the swarm. Van Koeverden won a silver medal in kayak singles 1,000m to go along with gold, silver and bronze medals from past Olympics. He was eager to celebrate it with the people who have helped him get to where he is, the Burloak Canoe Club where he trains. "It's exciting to be down at the canoe club. I'd like to go (there), maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow and see everyone who supports us. They're really like my family. I've got 250 `brothers and sisters' to go and see," he said. Matheson was greeted by a similar crowd when she emerged from outside the airport gates. The Oakville Soccer Club product became the national women's team hero by scoring the winning goal in the dying minutes of regulation play in the bronze medal game against France. "Going in, our goal was to be on the podium so with all of that considered, we got our goal. It was PHOTOS BY ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog Olympic Mettle: Oakville silver medallist Adam van Koeverden, left, is greeted by media at Pearson International Airport, Monday. The kayaker has earned three Olympic medals in his career. At right, Oakville's Diana Matheson signs autographs for fans at the airport. just a fantastic story the way it ended. It was a perfect ending for us," she said. When she was asked how she felt the moment she scored that game-winning goal, she couldn't even recall the moment. "I totally went blank. I didn't even remember what happened on the goal. I just know I was off celebrating." Matheson said she hopes the attention for soccer keeps growing in the country, especially as Canada is hosting the 2015 Women's World Cup, which puts a lot of pressure on the local team to do well. "You don't want to disappoint the fans at home, Free 30 Point Inspection Saturday August 18th Official Supporter of the but at the same time, we love that pressure, we love playing at home and we don't get to do it enough so we're all looking forward to 2015." Among those welcoming the athletes were young female soccer players. Matheson, at just 5-foot, has had a difficult path to her position on the Canadian team. She also had a message for young soccer players. "Just keep playing soccer. Enjoy it. That's what I've always said. If there's something you're not good at, practice and you can get a lot better at it," she said. Matheson posed for pictures and signed her autograph for fans at the airport. Among those fans was Brampton's Lauryn Walker, a 12-year-old who plays at the Dixie Soccer Club in Mississauga, and watched Matheson score the winning goal. "It's like a dream to meet them. It's just shocking," she said of meeting Matheson and other soccer team members. "I really always wanted to meet them and wanted to congratulate them on how well they're doing so far and how big of an impact they are on me." Watching Matheson score the winning goal gave her motivation to play soccer even more, she said. Paul Varian, chief administrative officer with the Oakville Soccer Club, who was among the local club members to greet Matheson, said she has been a huge inspiration to youngsters. He said having so many young soccer players wait for the athletes at the airport was about demonstrating support for them. "It's rewarding for the athletes that all these people are here. This is their moment and we need to support them," he said. When asked about Canada's overall results at the Olympics, van Koeverden said he was pleased with the national results. He said Canada got many surprise medals and broke through to the Top 10 in many events. He said Rosie MacLennan, who won Canada's only gold medal in 2012, is a great ambassador for the country. He was also thrilled to see his fellow canoe club member Mark Oldershaw, of Burlington, who took home bronze in the canoe single 1,000m event. "To see Mark Oldershaw cross the finish line with a medal is like a dream come true. I've been training with the guy since we were 12 and 13, so it's awesome." Oakville brought home three medals, plus the one Oldershaw won. Doug Csima won silver in the men's eight rowing event. Such success, van Koeverden said, is a great feat. "I think it's amazing and I think it warrants a parade down Trafalgar," he said. · Barbeque and refreshments while you wait. · 9:00am to 2:00pm · Inspection includes FREE wiper blade replacement if required. · Call us today to reserve your FREE 30 Point Inspection! Donation drop off Centre. Oakville to celebrate Olympians By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Mayor Rob Burton appeared on CTV's Canada AM last Friday to discuss a flurry of activity he received on Twitter to host a celebration for Oakville's Olympic athletes and their achievements. That celebration, he said Monday night at Town Council, will come in the early fall, tentatively set for Saturday, Oct. 13. Three Oakville athletes medalled at the 2012 Summer Games in London, along with a Burlington athlete who trains out of Oakville. "If we count (Mark Oldershaw's) medal, that's four from Oakville," Burton said noting that's a significant proportion of all Canada's medals. Burlington's Oldershaw (bronze in canoe singles 1,000m) trains out of the Burloak Canoe Club in Oakville, the same facility as Oakville's Adam van Koeverden (silver in kayak single 1,000m). In addition to their medals, Diana Matheson scored the game-winning goal to earn the Canadian women's soccer team a bronze medal and Douglas Csima picked up a silver medal with the Canadian men's eight rowing. Oakville also had two more athletes competing at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Kyle Jones (triathlon) and Tera Van Beilen (women's 100m, 200m and 4x100m breaststroke). Burton was asked on Canada AM what Oakville is doing to raise so many Olympians. "I told them Oakville is a town where moms and dads are raising families," he said. "The secret of our success is we put as much love into our kids as we possibly can and everybody does that. Everybody else who wants to do it, just step up the level of love you shower on your kids and away you go." Prior to his TV appearance, Burton's Twitter account was flooded with requests after van Koeverden tweeted him to host a parade for Matheson. "It seems like zillions of people seemed to retweet that," Burton said. "People began tweeting, `Look at this, a silver medalist is promoting a bronze medalist.' That was novel and interesting enough that (it) took off in the Twitterverse. "It's the Oakville way to celebrate not just the Olympic medalists, but all Olympians past, present and future," said Burton at council, Monday. "It is after all the sports clubs of our town that grow these athletes and I'm sure that everyone will be eager to participate." Burton said the Town is continuing to look for volunteers to help with the parade. Anyone interested can contact the mayor's office or the mayor directly at oakvillemayor@gmail.com. -- with files from David Lea Space is Limited Reserve Your Spot Now* *Spaces are limited to Volkswagen vehicles only. 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