Olympic canoeist visits St. Thomas Aquinas

Students and staff of St. Thomas Aquinas School welcomed Olympian Richard Dalton to their school recently.

Mr. Dalton captured their attention for an hour, talking about his career as a world-class athlete.

Mr. Dalton hails from Halifax, NS. He told the students at the age of five, he first experienced canoeing at a summer camp. He met friends there and together they had a great time, mostly falling out of the canoe and getting back in.

In no time at all, Mr. Dalton said he was hooked on canoeing. With lots of determination, perseverance and a love for this sport, Mr. Dalton mastered the three main skills in which he would need to excel - balancing, steering and how to go fast. His strategy in a race is to start out slowly, saving energy at the start for the end of the race.

He said training takes place eleven months of the year, with one month off. Practicing six days a week, three times each day, plus getting the proper sleep, eating a healthy diet and self motivation all combined to help him reach his goals.

Mr. Dalton shared with the audience a tape of a C-1 canoe 500 m semi-finals race from the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Greece. He represented Canada in this event and was one of the top three finalists across the finish line, enabling him to advance and compete in the finals. Canada placed sixth in that event.

Richard told the students and staff that he "is always happy to show people what it looks like to do his sport."

Many students had questions for the Olympian.

"Did you ever win first place in a canoe race?" asked one student.

Mr. Dalton said he won first place in various national championships several times.

In addition to reaching the finals at the Athens Olympics, he said he also received a bronze medal in the men's C-2 canoe 1,000 m at the 2002 World Championships in Spain. He is the Canadian record holder in men's C-1 canoe 200 m.

Another student wanted to know what it felt like being an athlete at the Olympic Games.

"It was an awesome time - wearing the national colours and the maple leaf on the jersey," he said. "It was an amazing thrill running through my arms and legs before the race started."

One of the secrets about achieving goals shared by Mr. Dalton was the belief that "no matter how difficult something is, if you really enjoy it, you will have success with it." Mr. Dalton said he has a goal to improve his skills in canoeing to "win more medals for Canada at the 2009 World Canoe Championships in Dartmouth, NS, as well as a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games."

His tour has taken him to schools throughout Bay St. George and the province.