Calgary fans cheer on cyclist Sarah Orban, but womens' sprint falls short at Paris Olympics
A crowd of over 30 passionate Canadian cycling fans turned out for a Monday morning watch party at McKenzie Meadows Golf Club in south Calgary, but it turned out not to be Canada’s day.
The party were there to cheer on Sarah Orban, part of Canada’s women’s cycling team, who was participating in the cycling sprint Monday morning.
Sarah Orban, cycling - track. (Source: Canada Olympic Committee)
Leading the cheers was former Calgary Flame Perry Berezan, who is the Orbans’ neighbour and a longtime friend of the family.
“Sarah is creating quite the following with her journey since joining the Canadian cycling team,” Berezan said.
Unfortunately, the Canadian women, which also included Sherwood Park, Alta.'s Kelsey Mitchell and Lauriane Genest of Levis, Quebec, finished eighth in the Women’s Team Sprint event, which was won by Great Britain.
Perry Berezan is the neighbour and a longtime friend of Sarah Orban's parents.
That didn’t deter Berezan’s enthusiasm, however.
“The Olympics is great because you find someone in your community that you can relate to, that has sacrificed as much as Sarah has,” he said. “She’s become one of the best starters in the world for the team sprint, and she’s so good at it – her race this morning showed it. She left her two teammates in the dust, because they couldn’t keep up with her.
“Which is the tough part in team sprint,” he added. “Sadly they couldn’t keep up, so their time wasn’t as good, but she went all out.”
“(I’m) just proud of her,” he said. “Really proud of Sarah. She was a soccer player who decided she wanted to become a cycling specialist and she’s become one of the best in the world.”
Orban was a past 2017 CTV Calgary Athlete of the Week
With files from Tyler Barrow
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney to join Liberal Party as special adviser
Former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will be joining the Liberal Party as a special adviser. In an official press release on Monday, the party says Carney will serve as the chair of a leader's task force on economic growth.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, 'doing what I can to stay cancer free' after finishing chemotherapy
Catherine, Princess of Wales, has said she has completed her chemotherapy and is 'doing what I can to stay cancer free,' as she plans to return gradually to public life in the months ahead.
John and Matthew Gaudreau are mourned by the hockey community, family and friends at their funeral
Mourners have begun to arrive for the funeral for John and Matthew Gaudreau at a church in suburban Philadelphia on Monday.
BREAKING 'Peter Nygard is a sexual predator:' Former fashion mogul sentenced to 11 years in prison
Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. The sentence was handed to Nygard, 83, by Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein in Toronto on Monday. Last November, a jury found Nygard guilty of four counts of sexual assault following a six-week trial.
'My path to healing and full recovery is long': Read the full message from Catherine, Princess of Wales
Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced Monday she is 'cancer free,' after completing chemotherapy treatment. Here is her message in full.
Amid threat of Air Canada pilots strike, what should you do if your flight gets cancelled?
Thousands of passengers could be stranded as early as Sunday if Air Canada doesn't reach a deal with its pilots' union. Here's what you can do if labour disruptions affect your flight.
Hunt widens for man who allegedly threw scalding coffee on baby
A man wanted for allegedly throwing scalding coffee on a baby in an unprovoked attack at a park in the northern Australian state of Queensland is now the subject of an international manhunt.
Vietnam storm deaths rise to 64 as flooding sweeps away a bus, causes a bridge to collapse
A bridge collapsed and a bus was swept away by flooding in Vietnam on Monday, raising the death toll in the Southeast Asian country to at least 64 from a typhoon and subsequent heavy rains that also damaged factories in export-focused northern industrial hubs, state media reported.
BREAKING Two Alberta men get 6 1/2-year prison sentences for Coutts protest
A judge has sentenced two Alberta men to 6 1/2 years in prison for their roles in the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta.