Montreal celebrates Athens Olympic flame
On June 20, 2004, the Athens Olympic Flame made its way through the streets of Montreal, the final stopover on the North American continent. It was a time to recall the 1976 Games, as the Greek community welcomed the flame on the streets with the Greek flag, a coincidental chance to celebrate the Greek national football team’s passage through to the last eight of the Euro 2004 football tournament.
The first Torchbearer was also of Greek origin. George Adamopoulos, 36 years old, wheeled himself onwards with the torch, to great applause. He has been confined to a wheelchair since he was the victim of a criminal assault at the age of 15. Before this he had been planning for a career in sport. On completing his distance, he handed the torch to Stephane Prefontaine, who had lit the cauldron in the Montreal Olympic Stadium in 1976. The Canadians chose to assign the torch to people known to have the strength to overcome difficulties, or people known for their achievements and innovative actions. Hence the torch was carried by Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space, by astronaut Julie Payette, and by athletes.Some of the athletes are speed skater marc Gagnon, divers Sylvie bernier, Annie Pelletier, Emilie Heymans, sprinter Nicolas Macrozonaris, swimmer Mark Tewksbury and synchrozined swimmer Sylvie Frechette and citizens who have contributed to their local communities such as Marc Garneau, the first Canadian to go into space, and Pilot Robert Piche, who made headlines in 2201 for his stunning landing of troubled Air Canada jet on am island in the Azores
The flame passed all the central points in the multicultural Montreal, giving the various different ethnic communities the opportunity to welcome the torchbearers. It received a special welcome from Montreal’s Greek community, at the statue of Athena and outside St. Joseph’s church, where they had been waiting from early on to greet it. The procession’s arrival coincided with the final whistle of the Euro 2004 match, which generated still more enthusiasm. Dozens of Greek-Canadians started to follow the Olympic flame in their cars towards the locale of the main event. They saw the Greek delegation off with folk songs and dances, while the hooting of the car horns gave the ceremony a colour all its own.
The last Torchbearer was Bruny Surin, a legendary figure in Canadian sport, as he has taken part in three Olympic Games, winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta as a member of the Canadian men's 4X100 metre relay team. “The Olympic flame that was lit in Montreal in 1976 never burned out," remarked ATHENS 2004 representative Spiros Lambridis as he handed an Olympic torch to Montreal’s Mayor. “The city has maintained its Olympic spirit. We are waiting for you to visit Greece and watch the best and safest Games ever," said Giannis Mourikis, the Greek ambassador to Canada.
  
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