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“My dream always was to go to one – just to attend one. So,
when they came to my hometown; I was like ‘Wow!'”
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games are coming to Vancouver in February. John Egan ’86 will do his part in
making sure the iconic flame gets there.
He will carry the Olympic torch on the 100th day
of its Pan-Canadian sojourn, which began in October.
Egan won’t be taking an Olympic-grade stride during the 400-yard
dash.
“I’m going to run as slow as possible,” he said, indicating
he would savor every moment of the lucky strut.
It took many an entry in a contest sponsored by Coca Cola to
earn his spot in the relay, Egan said. Only 8,000 get to enjoy the few minutes
of limelight – more than one million entered.
“It really is a dream come true,” said Egan, an avid
snowboarder and skier who moved to Vancouver
about 20 years ago.
His Olympic interest stretches back to watching the events
as a child. He even wrote a letter to the editor of Province in 1994 arguing Vancouver
should make a bid for the Winter Olympics.
In an interesting twist, Egan won’t be the only Oswegonian
on the torch trail. Women’s ice hockey defender Meagan Big Snake ’11 was
selected as one of 11 youth flame attendants guarding and running with the
Olympic torch on its cross-country trek.
The two have exchanged some e-mails and plan to meet each other
after Egan’s run, which will be approximately one hour east of Vancouver. An instructional designer and
project manager in the University of British Columbia Office of Learning
Technology, Egan fondly remembers his undergraduate days at Oswego.
“Oswego
was a lot of fun,” he said. “The climate really shaped me.”
Fellow alumni and the world can follow Egan’s blog as he prepares for the run, which
will also be webcast
by CTV Feb. 6. Further details will become available closer to the date.
-- Shane M. Liebler
PHOTO CAPTION:
John Egan ’86 sports a T-shirt designating him as a 2010 Winter
Olympics torchbearer. He will escort the torch Feb. 6.
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Article: Going Up
Oswego Alumni Association, Inc.
King Alumni Hall • SUNY Oswego • Oswego, NY 13126
315-312-2258 • 315-312-5570 (fax)
Email: alumni@oswego.edu
Web site: www.oswego.edu/alumni
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