The Road to Rio theme Thursday night at the Victoria Conference Centre got retired rower Dominic Seiterle thinking back to his gold-medal Olympic moment at Beijing 2008 with the Elk Lake-based Canadian men’s eight.
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t absolutely miss it,” said Seiterle, now a manager in the provincial government.
“There is something pure and primal about having a singular focus.”
That primal moment is something Island-based rugby sevens players John Moonlight and Magali Harvey are currently in, as Moonlight readies for the Olympic qualifying tournament for Rio 2016 in June while Magali and her Canadian women’s mates already have qualified for Rio.
“We’re sticking to the process and not concerning ourselves with the outcome,” Magali said of the highly regarded Langford-based Canadian women’s sevens, who are projected as a potential Olympic medallist team for Rio.
Added Moonlight: “We’re excited by the opportunity we’re getting to qualify for the Olympics [in June].”
They, and numerous other Island and other Canadian Olympians, were on hand for the Victoria Gold Medal Plates fundraiser. It is among 10 held in cities across the country pairing award-winning chefs with medal-winning and aspiring Olympians.
The events raise more than $1 million annually for Canadian Olympians. The Island has an outsized connection to the Summer Olympics because it is home base to several national teams. So the B.C. Gold Medal Plates function has been held in the capital the last three years and not Vancouver.
“It’s great to bring the business world and athletes together,” said Olympic gold- and silver-medallist rower Malcolm Howard of Victoria.
There was a mix of Olympians, past and those preparing for Rio 2016, on hand Thursday night. The list included rowing medallists Seiterle, Howard, David Calder, Adam Kreek, Andrew Byrnes, Cameron Baerg, Will Crothers, Doug Csima, Rob Gibson, Conlin McCabe, soccer medallist Melissa Tancredi, figure-skating medallist Tessa Virtue, curling medallist Julie Skinner, synchronized-swimming medallist Michelle Cameron-Coulter and rugby stars Harvey and Moonlight.
Master of ceremonies was Olympic cycling medallist Curt Harnett, with Kreek assisting. Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo provided the music.
The Canadian Olympians said they are appreciative of the support they receive through initiatives such as this.
“Everything helped when I was training,” Seiterle said.
“You can’t live off it, but the added support money helps take some of the edge off.”
The chairman for the Victoria Gold Medal Plates is Bruce Courtnall, who again sold out the event with more than 400 tickets at $350 each.
“This is a good push toward Rio for our Olympians,” Courtnall said.
The Road to Rio is being travelled in the shadow of revelations of widespread drug abuse in Russian track and field.
“I trust WADA [the world sport anti-doping agency] to keep rugby clean,” Harvey said.
Moonlight noted that rugby sevens teams warm up for international competitions wearing T-shirts that read: “Keep Rugby Clean.”
Olympic silver-medallist rower Calder of Victoria said there were two instances when he “questioned the integrity” of opponent crews from other nations.
“It is said the system is reactionary and always a couple of steps behind the cheaters,” Calder said. “But WADA is trying to keep sport clean.”
