The Province from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 25

THE PROVINCE I NEWS I A25 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2006 Prof says Olympic poims have Camadian connection mm ooaap wp FIRST USED IN 19301 Hamilton games put athletes on pedestal BY CLARE OGILVIE ones used in the first British Empire Games in Hamilton in 1930. Until that time dignitaries awarding Olympic medals were the ones who stood on platforms while the athletes stood below. "The ceremonies were sort of focused on the bloody person presenting the medals rather than the person getting them. So people started registering their disappointment," he said. Barney said the idea for the podiums came from Melville Marks "Bobbie" Robinson, the organizer of the Hamilton Games.

When then-International Olympic Committee president Henri de Baillet-Latour saw the podiums in Hamilton he instructed the organizers of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y., to use the Canadian-designed podiums at the medal ceremonies. Podiums have been used ever since, said Barney, who is to present his historical tidbit next week at Beijing Forum 2006. VANOC will start designing the podiums in late 2008 and early 2009 and it's likely that Canada's tie to the podium will be reflected. clareogilvietelus.net STAFF REPORTER WHISTLER Next time you see a Canadian athlete on an Olympic podium you might give a little thought to the history underfoot. Prof.

Robert Barney, founding director of the University of Western Ontario's International Centre for Olympic Studies, says Olympic podiums are based on WW Dreaming of buying a new home? A second home? Or upgrading your current one? CMHC makes it easier to bring your sweet dreams to life. Get expert information, on-line videos and how-to guides that answer your questions about buying, maintaining, and renovating your home, as well as making it more energy efficient Or find out how CMHC's Mortgage Loan Insurance offers housing finance solutions that can bring you closer than ever to your ideal home. CMHC: Canada's national housing agency for over 60 years. 3 hm hssft a IRIS presents a BC Guide Dog Community 9 Open House in Walnut Grove, Saturday, October 21 1 0am 4pm Rain or Shine! To learn more, visit WWW.CITlhC.Ca or call I 800 668-2642 (Monday to Friday 7 a.m. 9 p.m.

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