Mark Tewksbury, Canada’s 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter backstroke, was honored with his picture in bright lights as part of the Canada Olympic Excellence Day in Montreal.
Tewksbury is one of the most revered Canadian Olympians, who has been inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
The day marked the opening of the Canadian Olympic House in Montreal, which will provide all sorts of technology to help the Olympic movement within Canada. Additionally, it is one of the few buildings in the world allowed to hoist the Olympic Rings.
Canada Olympic Excellence Day Press Release:
Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) President Marcel Aubut announced today that the opening of the new Canadian Olympic House, located at 500 René-Lévesque Boulevard West in Montreal, will take place on July 9, 2015 as part of Canada Olympic Excellence Day. In doing so, the COC extends its presence into Quebec and will now have a headquarters office in Montreal, consolidating its leadership role as Canada’s first Olympic city, almost forty years after the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.
This event will be held with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach in attendance. This will be both a unique and memorable day that will include festivities in the streets of Montreal and the raising of the Olympic rings on the roof of the COC office building to which everyone is invited. The World Sport Luncheon featuring exceptional speakers, including Mr. Bach, who will address more than a thousand guests as the head of the Olympic Movement.
Recognized as a leader among National Olympic Committees, the COC is setting up a modernized workspace. The Canadian Olympic House will make the Olympic journey more accessible to everyone by opening its doors to the public. In the hall, a sports science and technology centre named Olympic Experience will take visitors back in time to relive our Olympians’ historic achievements and will be continually updated to reflect memorable moments in the sports world and shine the spotlight on those athletes. The most sophisticated technologies will be used to provide visitors with unique Olympic-like experiences. Opening later this fall, the Olympic Experience will be of great educational value, as it will welcome student groups and introduce them to Olympic sports. Because of its distinctiveness, the Canadian Olympic House is poised to become a major tourist attraction for visitors from around the world which all Montrealers and Canadians can be proud of.
A new state of the art conference room will also be ready to receive its first guests and will serve as a technologically-advanced multi-purpose centre that will provide businesses and organizations alike with unlimited opportunities to hold all kinds of events, such as conferences, TV, radio and multimedia productions.
The highlight of Canada Olympic Excellence Day will be the raising, in the evening, of the Olympic rings atop the building’s roof where they will shine bright in the Montreal sky. This prestigious symbol will be featured with the permission of the International Olympic Committee and will be raised at the conclusion of a large-scale show featuring Quebec and Canadian singing stars. This will be a defining moment full of emotion. This day will put Montreal Olympic sport in the spotlight at a time when international media will be in Canada to cover the Pan Am Games that will begin in Toronto the next day on July 10.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach will be in attendance throughout the entire day and will be returning for the first time as President of the IOC to the city where he won a gold medal in fencing in 1976. Others will take the stage during the World Sport Luncheon at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, including NBC Sports Group President Mark Lazarus and Olympians Justine, Chloé and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe. The President of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah of Kuwait will also be in attendance throughout the day.
The Canadian Olympic House will generate close to one hundred sustainable jobs in Montreal. Additional employment will be created when the National Sport Federations settle into their new office space to incubate for up to two years and tap into the COC’s expertise, many of them choosing to make Montreal their permanent home.
With the 150th anniversary of Confederation approaching, the Canadian Olympic Committee’s mission is to transform the country through the power of sport. With this new office, there will be enough space to continue to guide the development of sport with its partners and support our athletes in showcasing Canada around the world, while thrusting Montreal, our first Olympic city, into the forefront of the activities at the dawn of its 375th anniversary.
This great initiative is made possible thanks to the financial support of our private sector partners, as well as the City of Montreal and the governments of Quebec and Canada.
Canada Olympic Excellence Day Photo Gallery