With Canadian nationalism and support for amateur athletes at an all-time high following the 2010 Winter Games, the CTV family of networks pays tribute to the athletes and decision makers who have excelled on the Olympic Games stage with exclusive coverage of CANADIAN OLYMPIC HALL OF FAME – CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE 2010.
The two-hour special will air on CTV and Star! on Saturday, April 24 at 8 p.m. ET, and /A\ on Sunday, April 25 at 8 p.m. ET. In French, RDS will broadcast the show, entitled TEMPLE DE LA RENOMMÉE OLYMPIQUE DU CANADA – CÉLÉBRONS L’EXCELLENCE 2010, on Saturday, May 8 at 12 noon ET. The shows will also be available on demand at CTV.ca and RDS.ca. following their television broadcasts. This marks the first time the annual event has ever been televised.
CTV and its news, sports and entertainment platforms also provide coverage of several events on Friday featuring the Vancouver 2010 Olympians and Paralympians leading up to the gala. Reliving the moments from Vancouver 2010 with exclusive footage from the Winter Games, the coverage includes Friday’s private breakfast, the train ride from Ottawa to Montreal, the athlete parade on Sainte-Catherine Street, and the gala red carpet and VIP reception (for details, see below).
Hosted in both English and French by ETALK’s Ben Mulroney from the Bell Centre in Montreal, CANADIAN OLYMPIC HALL OF FAME – CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE 2010 honours the outstanding athletic achievements by Canadian athletes and those who have made a difference in the Olympic Movement, as they are inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. More than 150 Canadian Olympians and Paralympians who participated at Vancouver 2010 will be on hand for the big event. The star-studded lineup will also include performances by Sarah McLachlan, Tom Cochrane, Ginette Reno, and The Canadian Tenors, as well as Nikki Yanofsky, Annie Villeneuve and Stephan Moccio who will perform CTV’s Vancouver 2010 theme song I Believe/J’imagine.
The 2010 Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame inductees are:
Speed skater Susan Auch
Kayaker Caroline Brunet
Sprinter Bruny Surin
Coach Paul Poce
Builder Carol Anne Letheren (posthumously)
Builder Peter Lougheed
Builder Walter Sieber
Additionally, in recognition of their exceptional achievements in sport and contributions to Vancouver 2010, VANOC’s John Furlong and Jack Poole (posthumously) and British Columbia premier, the Honourable Gordon Campbell, will receive the prestigious Canadian Olympic Order (see below for bios). Furlong will be introduced by CTV’s Brian Williams, host of OLYMPIC PRIME TIME.
“Vancouver 2010 Olympians and Paralympians made our nation proud,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc. “CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE honours the athletes and leaders that came before them and paved the way for them to excel on the world stage.”
“We are so pleased to have CTV and RDS join us in CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE and commemorating our athletes’ successes at the Vancouver 2010 Games,” said Marcel Aubut, Canadian Olympic Committee President-Elect. “They did such an incredible job bringing these Games to life in households across the country. We couldn’t be happier that they are continuing the momentum and producing further great Olympic moments as we honour our 2010 Olympians and welcome a new class of inductees into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.”
Presenters at CANADIAN OLYMPIC HALL OF FAME – CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE 2010 include Vancouver 2010 gold medallists Alexandre Bilodeau, Ashleigh McIvor, Jon Montgomery and Hayley Wickenheiser, silver medallist Jenn Heil, bronze medallists Joannie Rochette and Clara Hughes, and five-time Paralympic gold medallist Lauren Woolstencroft.
Also presenting are Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor Lloyd Robertson of CTV NEWS and popular SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA judge Jean Marc Genereux. In addition, Vancouver 2010 double medallist François-Louis Tremblay and kayaker Adam van Koeverden jam with Tom Cochrane, while Olympic figure skaters Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison dance to a performance by Ginette Reno and The Canadian Tenors.
Leading up to the CANADIAN OLYMPIC HALL OF FAME – CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE 2010 telecast, ETALK will televise an exclusive 30-minute special with Canada’s 2010 Olympic Team as they reunite on a memorable train ride from Ottawa to Montreal. Hosted by Ben Mulroney, ETALK PRESENTS – TEAM CANADA: THE NEXT STOP airs Friday, April 23 at 11 a.m. ET on CTV Montreal, and nationally on Friday, April 23 at 1 p.m. ET and Saturday, April 24 at 5:30 p.m. ET, as well as on demand at CTV.ca, as ETALK gets on board for exclusive interviews with the athletes.
Additional festivities will be taking place to honour Canada’s Olympians and Paralympians, and the CTV family of networks will be on hand to bring viewers all the action.
Private breakfast with the 2010 Olympians and Paralympians
Friday, April 23 on CANADA AM, CTV News Channel and CP24 (live beginning at 6 a.m. ET) and on ETALK (7 p.m. ET)
Viewers get a backstage pass to the early-morning festivities as Jeff Hutcheson gets up close and personal with Canada’s Olympic heroes live on CANADA AM, CTV News Channel and CP24, while ETALK’s Ben Mulroney goes one-on-one with the athletes.
Parade on Sainte-Catherine Street and Rally at Phillips Square in Montreal
Friday, April 23 on CTV Montreal, CTV News Channel, RDS and RIS Info Sports (live from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ET)
Ten floats, 150 Canadian Olympians and Paralympians, and thousands of fans as we honour and celebrate the accomplishments of the Vancouver 2010 athletes. CTV Montreal’s Todd van der Heyden and Mutsumi Takahashi, along with TSN’s James Cybulski, will host the English-language coverage live from Phillips Square alongside various guest analysts and commentators. In French, Frédéric Plante will be on site to host RDS’s and RIS Info Sports’s live coverage with commentators Claude Mailhot and Nathalie Lambert, while reporters Luc Bellemare and Jean-Luc Legendre travel along the parade route.
Red Carpet and VIP Reception
Friday, April 23 on CTV Montreal, CTV News Channel and CP24 (live at 6 p.m. ET), RIS Info Sports (live at 5:30 p.m. ET) and RDS/RIS Info Sports (live at 6 p.m. ET); Monday, April 26 on ETALK (7 p.m. ET)
Catch all the celebrity, style and fashion, as the stars hit the red carpet at Windsor Station in Montreal and make their way to the VIP Reception where gold medallist Jon Montgomery will auction off a car. CTV Montreal will have live reports during CTV News at 6 p.m. ET, while CTV News Channel and CP24 will have live interviews with the stars. ETALK’s Danielle McGimsie will also be on hand for the glam and glitz as the celebs strut their stuff. On RIS Info Sports at 5:30 p.m. ET, reporter Luc Bellemare will be on site to greet the Olympians, performers and dignitaries. The joint RDS/RIS coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET when a special edition of SPORTS 30 signs on live from the Red Carpet and VIP Reception with anchors Chantal Machabée and Marc Labrècque.
BIOGRAPHIES
Susan Auch – Athlete Inductee
Speed skater Susan Auch competed in five consecutive Olympic Games, winning back-to-back silver medals in the 500m at the 1994 and 1998 Olympic Winter Games. She dominated the Canadian scene from 1990 through 1995, winning six straight overall national sprint titles. A native of Calgary, Auch was named Canadian Female Athlete of the Year in 1995. Most recently, Auch was the short track speed skating analyst for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium’s coverage of the 2010 Winter Games.
Caroline Brunet – Athlete Inductee
A five-time Olympian, kayaker Caroline Brunet won three Olympic medals in the K-1 500 metres (two silver and one bronze). In 2000, the Lac-Beauport, Quebec native was Canada’s flag bearer for the Summer Games in Sydney. Throughout her career, Brunet had 21 World Championship podium appearances. Winner of the Lou Marsh Award in 1999 as Canada’s top athlete, Brunet is a member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame.
Bruny Surin – Athlete Inductee
Bruny Surin is a four-time Olympian and one of Canada’s most successful athletes in the sport of athletics. In 1996, Surin teamed with Donovan Bailey, Glenroy Gilbert, Robert Esmie and alternate Carlton Chambers to form the world’s fastest 4×100-metre relay team, winning gold at the Summer Games in Atlanta. They were the first Canadian relay team to ever win Olympic gold. In 1993 and 1995, Surin won back-to-back gold medals in the 60 metres at the World Indoor Championships. Surin was born in Cap-Haitien in Haiti and moved with his family to Montreal when he was seven years old.
Paul Poce – Coach Inductee
Paul Poce is one of Canada’s most accomplished athletics coaches with expertise in distance running. Poce founded the distinguished Toronto Olympic Club in 1954 – the city’s oldest running club for high performance sport, where he still works today as head coach and administrator. Poce was head athletics coach for Canada at the 1992 Summer Games and distance coach for the 1972 and 1976 Summer Games. He has coached some of Canada’s top athletes throughout his impressive career, including John Craig and Jerome Drayton – Canada’s greatest marathon runner of all time.
Carol Anne Letheren – Builder Inductee
For 30 years, Carol Anne Letheren held a variety of vital roles in Canadian sport, including CEO of the Canadian Olympic Association. Letheren was a leader of Toronto’s 2008 Olympic bid and was a longtime ambassador for the advancement of women in sport. In 2002, the COA created the Carol Anne Letheren Leadership and Sport Scholarship, which supports the pursuit of excellence by young Canadian women who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in athletics, academics and leadership. Letheren died suddenly in 2001 of a brain aneurysm. She was 58.
Peter Lougheed – Builder Inductee
The Honourable E. Peter Lougheed was the 10th premier of Alberta (1971 to 1985). A notable philanthropist and prominent Canadian politician, Lougheed was an instrumental figure in assembling Calgary’s bid to host the 1988 Winter Games. In 2000, Lougheed was awarded the Canadian Olympic Order for his leadership in the Olympic Movement. Prior to his days in the political arena, Lougheed was a professional athlete, playing in the CFL for the Edmonton Eskimos. A provincial park in Kananaskis County and a multicultural village in Edmonton are both named in Lougheed’s honour.
Walter Sieber – Builder Inductee
Walter Sieber was the Vice-President of the Canadian Olympic Committee from 1985 to 2009, spanning 12 Olympic Games and six Pan American Games. An expert in organizing major sports events, Sieber was a board member for Calgary 1988 and Vancouver 2010, the director general of sports for the Montreal 1976 Games, and Canada’s Chef de Mission for the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville. Since 2004, he has been a member of the IOC’s prestigious Candidature Acceptance Working Group, which reviews and analyzes Olympic bids and candidate cities. Last year, Sieber received the Order of Quebec, the province’s highest distinction awarded by the provincial government.
Gordon Campbell – Canadian Olympic Order
Honourable Gordon Campbell, British Columbia’s 34th premier, was a tireless supporter of the 2010 Winter Games. Under his leadership, BC was the first province to contribute to Own the Podium. He also helped make certain that the 2010 Games would be the most environmentally sustainable in Olympic Games history. Premier Campbell presented at the winning bid in 2003 and ensured, pre-Games, that Vancouver 2010 would have a lasting impact on communities and athletes through the Legacies Now program.
John Furlong – Canadian Olympic Order
Appointed CEO of VANOC in 2004, John Furlong is widely credited with making Vancouver 2010 ‘Canada’s Games’ and arguably one of the most successful Winter Games of all time. Furlong was President and COO of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation and was the company’s international face and key spokesperson. Born in Tipperary, Ireland, Furlong arrived in Canada more than 30 years ago and has been involved in athletics all his life. He even competed at the international level in basketball, European handball and squash. A long-time member of the COC, Furlong has also served as chair of the BC Games and Sport BC.
Jack Poole – Canadian Olympic Order
Jack Poole was a visionary. Prior to his role as Chairman of VANOC, Poole was Chairman and CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation and was an integral figure in securing the Games for Vancouver. A successful Vancouver real estate developer, Poole, who grew up in Mortlach, Sask., was a visible community figure and philanthropist. He was appointed the Order of Canada in 2006. Poole passed away in October 2009 of cancer shortly before the Games began.
