A once or twice in a lifetime experience

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The year was 1987 and Canada was preparing for the Olympic Games in Calgary early the following year. In keeping with tradition, The Olympic Torch Relay would accompany the games, beginning its journey on the east coast of Canada and making its way west towards Alberta. The torch was carried by Canadians from differing walks of life. Some came from the world of sport, like skiing legend and “Crazy Canuck” Ken Read, or the now infamous sprinter Ben Johnson, but the majority of torch bearers were just average, but lucky people.

Paul Dawson was one of those average and lucky people. He won his place as an Olympic Torch bearer by entering his name in a draw at a local gas station. “I filled out a ballot at the Petro Canada around the corner from my house” recalls Dawson. “I did that a few times, maybe as many as 10. I came to find out that some people had entered hundreds and even thousands of times, but I guess I’m just lucky.”

Dawson remembers the day back in 1987 when he got the call telling him he had been chosen to carry the Olympic Torch. “The man told me it would be on Christmas Eve,” says Dawson. “They thought I might say no, but there was no way I was going to miss that chance. It ended up great, my family was intending on getting together for the holiday anyway, so we just drove about an hour outside of Toronto and met in Brantford instead.”

A proud Canadian, Dawson remembers that Christmas Eve as one of the greatest days of his life. “I don’t know if I had ever smiled that much while running before,” he laughs “but the way it was organized, the way I was treated, it was definitely one of the highlights of my life.” A once in a lifetime experience to be sure, or so he thought.

Fast forward about 22 years and history was about to repeat itself. The Olympics were once again coming to Canada, this time it would Vancouver playing host and naturally, the Olympic Torch Relay would kick off the festivities, passing through the Toronto area in December. “I was sitting at home and my telephone rang. It was a representative from Coca-Cola,” says Dawson. “She told me I had (again) won a draw and been chosen to carry the Olympic Torch. I really couldn’t believe it. I was going to get to carry the torch for a second time.”

The 22 years since Dawson had last carried the torch had brought many technological changes. The draw he won this time was an online contest and his run would be streamed live on the Internet. “I have a few pictures of the run from 20 years ago and they’re great,” he says. “My kids are so young, I’m so young, but for this run, I have a video of myself from the time I receive the torch all the way to when I make the handoff and you can hear my wife  running alongside me and cheering the entire time. It’s truly a different world now.”

Dawson’s sons were quite young in 1987, the oldest was ten, the youngest four and the middle child seven. “I’m not sure how much my boys understood about what was happening the first time around, but in the years that followed I think they thought it was pretty cool that their dad had carried the torch.” In fact, all three of Paul’s sons entered the same online contest he had to try to follow in his footsteps and carry the Olympic flame when it came through Toronto in 2009. “I guess I’m still the lucky one,” Paul chuckles, “but two of my three boys werethere to watch me run again and the other one was watching online.”

Each torchbearer gets to carry the flame for just under a kilometer and Dawson had no intention of setting any speed records during his run. “I was going to make my moment with the torch last as long as I could,” he explains. “There was no way I was going to go any faster than a trot. After all, it might be another 20 years before I get to do it again.”

- Joshua Dawson