It's Millar Time ... Again

First off, let me say the Canadian Olympic Committee couldn't have picked a finer flag-bearer for the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
Kayaker Adam van Koeverden did us proud four years ago in Athens, winning a gold and bronze medal. More than that, though, he is a true spokesman for amateur sport in this country, relentlessly supporting causes such as Canadian Athletes Now that make a very real difference in the lives of so many of our Olympians.
He is also at the forefront of what many like to call the "new breed" of Olympians wearing the red maple leaf. Those who aren't merely happy to just show up at a major Games, but head onto the biggest stages of them all with thoughts of nothing short of victory dancing in their heads (and aren't shy about saying it, either).
For all of that, and so much more, van Koeverden is the ideal candidate to lead our athletes into the "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium in Beijing in 16 days' time.
Can't help being amused — hell, impressed — by the groundswell of support, though, for the grand old man of Canada's Olympic team. And I mean not a hint of disrespect toward Ian Millar by calling him that.
The showjumper from Perth, Ont. — the little Ottawa Valley town which has contributed a remarkable four members to the 2008 Canadian Olympic team — will compete in a record-tying ninth Olympics next month in China. And it would be an even 10 if Canada hadn't boycotted the 1980 Moscow Games.
Millar, by all accounts nothing short of the finest of gentlemen, wears Canada's colours proudly whenever and wherever he competes around the globe. At 61, he's a marvel and a treasure. So much so that he was right at the top of the list when speculation began in the past few days about candidates for the flag-bearer role.
Lots of folks were behind him, too. While you might expect Millar would be favoured by Ottawa Sun readers — they gave him a leading 34% support in an online poll — even more impressive were the results gathered by the Toronto Star in a similar survey. A staggering 80% of Star readers wanted to hand the flag to the 61-year-old Millar.
Like we said, it's no insult to van Koeverden, a more than worthy selection. But rather, an immense show of respect to an Olympian who, one more time, deserves a collective tip of our Canadian hats.
*****
For a complete listing of our Canadian Olympic team, visit the COC website here.
Also worth a look is this Toronto Star graphic, which tells you all our athletes' hometowns. If you don't know who from your own backyard is about to make the dream of a lifetime come true, that is.