Speed Skater Ewen Barclay Leads Special Olympics Team Canada with Pride and Purpose at Opening Ceremony

At last night’s Opening Ceremony, Speed Skating athlete Ewen Barclay proudly led Special Olympics Team Canada in the Parade of Athletes. With her fellow athletes behind her, Ewen, hearing Canada called, took a final deep breath, held her head high, and walked forward, taking pride in the enormous responsibility of leading Special Olympics Team Canada into the ceremonies that would officially begin their World Games. 

When Ewen was named to Special Olympics Team Canada, she set a personal goal: to step up as a leader and put herself out there to embrace new challenges. She has worked hard to be a leader amongst the Speed Skating team. In her nomination for this role, the speed skating coaches and mission staff said, "You can see her really coming out of her shell and enjoying the whole process. Ewen works super hard when she is training with Jordan and Joshua and has shown maturity and leadership within the team. Ewen has taken her role as Athlete Leader seriously and represents the speed skate team really well."

In a touching tribute to Jordan Stevenson, a speed skating athlete who passed away unexpectedly a few days before he was meant to leave for Games, members of the speed skating team pinned Jordan’s personal goals card to their lapels, ensuring he was with them in spirit as they marched into the Opening Ceremony. For Ewen, carrying the Special Olympics Team Canada flag while keeping Jordan’s memory close was a moment of immense significance.

Reflecting on the experience, Ewen said “It made me really proud. It was a little overwhelming too, because when you walk in at the front all you see is all the other counties and the people in the stands – like my family. My sister is my training coach, but she had to stay home to watch our dog so she recorded it on TSN and sent it to a bunch of people. It made me really happy. I also tried to make sure to hold the Special Olympics Team Canada flag low enough that you could still see Jordan pinned to my vest."

From all of Special Olympics Team Canada, thank you, Ewen, for leading us last night!

Go Canada Go!