St. Francis Xavier students felt like champions yesterday as two Olympic gold medallists brought their hardware in for a little show and tell.
Curler Kevin Martin and hockey goalie Shannon Szabados were grinning ear-to-ear as a line of students waited to get an autograph and have their pictures taken with their Olympic heroes.
“This is definitely good for the future, especially considering the young people getting into, not just curling, but sports in general,” Martin said. “The Olympics does that every time it’s held but this time, for Canadians, it was elevated to a different level.”
Grade 10 student Pearl Motkoski couldn’t wait to meet the man known as Kmart. She and her father flew to Vancouver for one day just to catch Martin’s team take on the Danes.
Motkoski said she’s never curled before but since she contracted Olympic fever, she’d be in to giving it a shot.
“My dad curls so I have a little bit of knowledge about the game,” she said. “It looks really easy but I know it’s really hard, at least that’s what my dad tells me.”
The autograph session was a homecoming of sorts for Shannon Szabados. The Canadian backstop spent some time at the high school as a coach for the school’s hockey academy.
“It’s awesome. The support has been amazing since we’ve been back, and it’s good to come to a school where you have some ties,” she said.
