Vulcan welcomes first-ever local Olympian home for 28th annual Spock Days

VULCAN, ALTA. -

For a town known as the Star Trek capital of Canada, the majority of the community's recent attention has circled around an out of this world athlete.

Rugby sevens star Keyara Wardley is the first-ever Vulcan local to take part in the Olympic games.

After being stuck in traffic due to the wildfire near Canmore, Wardley and her mother, Lisa Wylie, pulled in to the small town at around 2 am, just eight hours before the start of Saturday's Spock Days parade.

But that wasn't going to stop the pair from celebrating her highly-anticipated return to home soil, and the chance to ride on the town's recreation of USS Enterprise.

"To see her on that float it's like, oh my God. There she is! Like it's so cool," Wylie said.

"She's an Olympian and it's so cool! It's still pretty surreal."

The pandemic forced the town to cancel last year's Spock Days, but getting back into the Trek spirit is in turn, lifting the spirits of all local residents.

Especially for the dozens of kids who lined up with anticipation to meet Wardley for a photo and autograph from the hometown hero.

"My main goal is just to see if I can inspire one of them. Even just one to pick up a rugby ball and play," said Wardley

"To see so many people come with their 'Go Keyara Go' shirts on and supporting and wanting my autograph, it's such an amazing feeling that I've inspired the younger generation."

The entire community banded together to support their homegrown talent with businesses plastering signs and words of encouragement in their windows.

A handful of individuals and groups also raised funds to cover the financial sacrifices required to chase the Olympic dream.

"It means a lot coming from a small community. I just want to say thank you to everybody who's supported me," said Wardley.

The 21 year-old rugby star scored two tries in her team's 33-0 win against Brazil to open the tournament.

Unfortunately, she was injured in the following match as the Canadians fell 26-12 to Fiji.

Canada's women's rugby sevens team finished the tournament in 9th place, while New Zealand took home gold, France finished second and Fiji captured the bronze.

Still, the experience is something the young Vulcan-born star will cherish for the rest of her life.

"It was so amazing. The people who helped volunteer, staff and everyone who was in Tokyo was amazing and they really made the Olympics a great experience," she said.

"Playing in Tokyo when you're in this massive stadium and no one's there which is a strange feeling, but as soon as you step out on the field you're just focused on the task at hand."

Wardley said she now plans on spending the next couple of weeks at home to rest up and visit with family before heading back to Victoria, B.C. to reunite with the women's national team.