One year ago… I was paddling a dragon boat flotilla to accompany the

One year ago… An Olympic flame was carried by an Italian-South Asian-Canadian Olympic kayaker on False Creek…..

and I was paddling in the accompanying flotilla from the dragon boat and outrigger canoe community.

Olympic gold medalist canoeist Hugh Fisher carries the Olympic Flame, along Granville Island. Hugh helped to found the False Creek Racing Canoe Club for the inaugural Vancouver dragon boat races in 1986, held during Expo 86.

The Olympic torch has been passed – to Kamini Jain, Olympic kayaker @ 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Games, from Hugh Fisher, gold and bronze medalist paddler at 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. – photo Todd Wong.

We launched the 6 dragon boats and 6 outrigger canoes from Vanier Park, @ Kits Point, right beside the Coast Guard Station @ Burrard Marina. I was lead stroke with Marina McCready, formerly of the False Creek Women's Team.

we were part of a flotilla of 6 dragon boats + 6 outrigger canoes,
that accompanied the torch bearers in a voyageur canoe and a dragon
boat = 140 dragon boat paddlers + 45 canoe paddlers = 185 paddlers + 2
torch bearers!

Hugh Fisher with his 1984 kayaking medaling partner Alwyn Morris. Morris is Mohawk First Nations, and was a torch bearer on the Kahnawake Reserve outside of Montreal. It was Morris, a full-blooded Mohawk who held up an eagle feather on the medal podium, after they received their gold medals for the Men's K-2 1,000m race at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Kamini took a picture with me and my friends Lisa and Gio – who was born in Italy! Kamini was born in Tripoli, Libya, with South Asian and Italian ancestry. Lisa and I are both multi-generation Canadians – she was born in Winnipeg, and I was born in Vancouver.

see more pictures on my Flickr account: