Olympic gold medal sprinter Jerome Blake was a special guest at Kelowna council on Monday (Sept. 23).
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檇 like to honour our hometown heroes who represented the country on the global stage,害羞草研究所� said Doug Nicholas, sports and events services manager.
Blake is the first of three Kelowna athletes who participated in the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be honoured by the city. Marathon runner Malindi Elmore and wheelchair tennis player Robert Shaw will be recognized at the next two regular council meetings.
A video of the Canadian men害羞草研究所檚 4x100 gold medal win at the Paris Games was shown at Monday害羞草研究所檚 meeting.
害羞草研究所淢any of us watched that Friday morning race in great anticipation,害羞草研究所� Mayor Tom Dyas said.
Blake, along with teammates Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, and Andre De Grasse, turned in a time of 37.50 seconds. Wearing his gold medal, Blake talked about his experience in Paris.
害羞草研究所淲e knew what the goal was because we felt we had the team in Tokyo害羞草研究所nd we came away with a silver and we still weren害羞草研究所檛 very happy. We knew what we needed to do this time around.害羞草研究所�
Blake told council he would like to see a world-class training facility established in Kelowna to encourage young and upcoming athletes.
害羞草研究所淭here is a lot of talent in the Okanagan害羞草研究所here are other kids coming up behind me, seeing what I害羞草研究所檝e done and they believe they can do the same thing as well. Having a high-performance facility will keep athletes here害羞草研究所hey害羞草研究所檒l work hard and achieve their goals.害羞草研究所�
Referring to his future goals, Blake said the Canadian 100-metre record is on 害羞草研究所渂orrowed time害羞草研究所� adding that he is focusing on making the team for next year害羞草研究所檚 World Championships.
The city presented Blake with an original painting of the Apple Bowl, by local artist Irina Bakumenko, where he used to train when he came to Kelowna from Jamaica in 2013.
