Defining Moment Day 12
February 24, 2010It was the moment of theses Winter Olympics and one of the greatest moments these tired jaded sports eyes have seen in a long time..
When Joannie Rochette stepped on the ice here at Pacific Coliseum – there was a roar that you wouldn’t hear at a hockey game.
An entire building stood up -cheered - hoped – and prayed.
Only two days earlier Joannie was woken up at the athletes village with the worst news anyone could ever here. That her mother Therese had suddenly passed away. Her world that she knew had dramatically changed forever. The person she loved more than anything in her life, the person who was her support system – her rock – her soul was so sadly taken away from her.
When she got the news from the other main love of her life, her dad Normand, I’m sure the last thing Joannie thought about was skating or competing at the Olympics. But with an inner strength that not many of us could ever conjure up, she decided to skate on and dedicate her performance at the Games to her mom.
It was no longer about winning a medal – it was about something much more. About the everlasting love that only a mother and daughter can share and being able to persevere long enough to honour her memory.
Who would have thought would happen next? When the ovation settled to silence, Joannie skated into her spot. Her eyes closed for a moment. A moment for just her and her mom. Her music started and then a spirit was lifted. As she prepared for her first element – a triple jump combination – she looked to slip a bit but quickly steadied and then with a laser beam focus launched herself into the air – there revolutions – landed perfectly…and it just got better..and better..
I’ll have to check the replay for what happened after that…because I’m not sure I can truly remember. Looking around the broadcast booth, all I saw were people transfixed on a performance of a lifetime. Waterfalls were flowing from my colleagues Jennifer Robinson and Elizabeth Manley – our floor director and cameraman – our assistant producers – our researchers and Michelle Kho – a skating judge who happens to help crunch the numbers for us and has forgotten more about skating than any of us know. Grown men, grown women, little kids, Canadian, non-Canadian – all profoundly moved to tears from a young lady who taught us all that in times of duress and stress – we can overcome.
When the music stopped – and the audience exploded. It was Joannie’s turn to cry.
The torrent of tears wouldn’t stop and why should they. For the first time in her life – she had skated without her mother in her life.
And with an entire nation shedding a tear – we all knew that even though her mother was no longer here – she was certainly still beside her – inside her – and always will be with her.
It wasn’t supposed to be about a medal – but guess what – there’s a serious chance that Joannie Rochette will win one for her mom.
She could have the same magic moment that Ashleigh McIvor enjoyed.
The latest gold medal winner – McIvor raced to gold in ski-cross and now prospectors are lining up at Cypress Mountain to see if there truly is gold in that hill. Cypress has been the place to be at these Games if you like to watch Canadians celebrate. Ashleigh didn’t disappoint – led pretty much from start to finish and later her heard her anthem, saw her flag, and got her gold medal at BC Place Stadium which was a sea of red and white.
It was also a day where we again experienced the true agony of defeat – people inexplicably doing something that they never would do on their worst day. Dutch speedskater Sven Kramer – the golden boy of the long track – suffering a serious brain camp and slipping into the wrong lane. It would be like Michael Phelps forgetting to touch the wall after a world record or even worse realizing he wasn’t wearing his Speedo.
Embaressing. Humilating. Shattering.
That’s sport – sometimes stars like Sven Kramer fall from the sky and sometimes you can rise to the heavens – like Joannie Rochette.
