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8 economist smsuntriburie sports satiirhay peb n 2006 once cm olympian forever an olympian opening ceremonies give skater turned cop goosebumps byjohncudmore staff writer silver medalist veronica brenner might have been fooled once but certainly not a second time downhill skier brian stemmle competed on the olympic stage four times but most vividly remembers the opening ceremonies from his third in a series first games in 1988 in calgary skater melanie moffatt cole strained to hear her name announced that same h m m invitation in celebration of our newly expanded facility 35 years of service in stouffville you are cordially invited to our open house on saturday february 18 2006 from 945 am to 200 pm ribbon cutting ceremony at 1015 am by mayor sue sherban andy kb yuen bsc bscpt mcpa registered physiotherapist director outpatient services stouffville rd tim i hortonj main st coff time 1 s 5 19h avenue jharves x stouffville physiotherapy clinic 37 sandiford drive suite 102 stouffville on l4x7x5 tel 905 6401818 fax 905 6405091 taoist tai chi 9d54t156i9 mabeblsbsust a healthy energetic peaceful self open house registration markham 70 main street unit 16 phone 905 4715619 saturday february ib 2006 time 1000 am noon class starts sat february 25 2006 time 1000 am noon a registered charitable organization 1 1925 8655 rr0001 olympics those are among the memories and highlights three york region residents who combined to compete at seven olympic games will be able to call upon over the next fortnight as the turin olympics unfold once an olympian forever an olympian it is an honour no one can deny any athlete who has participated on the worlds most significant sporting stage from an athletes perspective and with any sport it is any athletes dream and youve met that goal to get there said ms moffatt who along with partner michael farrington earned a berth at the calgary olympics by placing third at the canadian championships for us it was even more special because it was in canada we were celebrities in calgary just because we were canadians we stepped out on the ice and there were 16000 people cheering in the sad- dledome we couldnt even hear our names announced it is a similar reaction to that expressed by mr stemmle who never reached the olympics medal podium but was a fixture on the international ski circuit for 13 seasons if you ask athletes most wont talk about their medals but something else about the surrounding atmosphere said mr stemmle who grew up in kettle- by the hockeyplayers were blown away by the experience in nagano during a four olympics span starting in calgary and ending in 1998 mr stemmle was among the premier down hill ski racers in the world his hellbent approach and no guts no glory procla mation was admired in the sport to this day when stemmle is approached by fans he can be almost certain two topics will be broached his horrific lifethreatening crash on hah- nenkamm kitzbuehel austria in 1989 and his heartbreaking fall in the slalom at veronica brenner silver medalist skier doing tv work for turin games the nagano olympics in 1998 when a sure medal he was leading the race slipped from his grasp behind veronica brenners sweetheart outer surface lurks the heart of a tiger the former freestyle aerialist crushes the notion that the olympic experience is what matters the former sharon resi dent was staggered by her ninthrplace showing in her olympic debut in nagano in 1998 she rebounded for a silver medal four years later at salt lake city if thats what youre there for sure said ms brenner who is working the turingames as a television analyst for cbc thats fine if youre there to be a tourist but i was pretty miserable because i went to win a medal it was devastating the worst moment of my life i think its a different experience for every one it probably depends on how well you do one thing these athletes agree upon is the olympics are not just another competition to do so is courting disappointment brenner who now lives in toronto remembers the canadian freestyle teams strategy to prepare for the nagano a workshop on the hew accessibility forontarians with disabilities act 2005 aoda is being held at the workshop you will learn about aoda standards development process municipal obligations changing roles of the aac under the new aoda when tuesday february 28 2006 time 4 pm to 7 pm where seminar room york region administrative centre 17250 yonge street north of mulock drive newmarket space is limited call 18774649675 ext 2123 to rsvp by february 17 2006 or email accessyorkyorkca light refreshments and american sign language interpreting will be provided kindly advise if you have accommodation andor dietary needs alternate formats such as large print handouts available upon request gwn hosted by york regional council and the york region accessibility advisory committee melanie moffatt skater recalls special treatment canadian ath letes received in calgary olympics to treat the event as a typical stop on the world cup circuit it was a huge albeit preventable mistake she says a mentoring program creating a bridge between past and current olympians would have been a tremen dous help she believes only afterwards did canada begin to look at a mentor approach which has been so successful in australia in nagano so many of us made the same mistakes she recalled its stupid that all these people had experienced it all before yet we were making the same mistakes as others before had i think there should be more sharing that way we had no plans for dealing with injuries or anyone getting sick i lost 10 pounds because i wasnt prepared for the food i survived on white rice salad and ice cream i lost 10 pounds the canadian olympics committee is on record as aiming for 25 medals in these games and as high as third in the medal standings much of that hope is based on recent performances leading to the olympics in an olympic year however not everything is as it appears all that mat ters is game day performance mr stemmle who will be working from the cbc studios in toronto with brian williams concedes knowing what to anticipate in calgary might have helped his performance i think about that now said mr stemmle i didnt know what to expect i was thinking its just another race you know to take the pressure off but once i got into the starting gate five minutes before the race my nerves were zapped i got thinking about how so many people were watching i had no energy youre too busy watching every thing and then boom mind you neither mr stemmle or ms brenner ever had to please a panel of fig ure skating judge at the time ice dance was a notori ously predictable sport that practically required a retirement or death in the pecking order to create movement in the standings buried third in the canadian depth chart ms moffatt and her partner michael farrington had little option but to enjoy the moment there was not a lot of pressure on vhat we had to do because we were the third canadian team said ms moffatt nowa crime analyst for the york regional police the newmarket resident still gets goosebumps when she watches opening and closing ceremonies that memory and standing on the ice during introduc tions with mr farrington are the moments she recalls every time i get choked up she said i get emotional just thinking about it you have to cherish it because no matter what you did in your sport thats what you remember