|
| |
|
|
|
Golden girl comes home to Hazelton |
|
|
|
Written by JASON PETERS, Citizen staff
|
|
Tuesday, 02 December 2008 |
Carol Huynh, who was born and raised in Hazelton, proudly displays the gold medal she won in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Huynh is heading home to celebrate her accomplishment with Hazelton residents.
It’s almost four full months after the fact.
And wrestler Carol Huynh still hasn’t fully processed what she accomplished in Beijing on Aug. 16. That’s the day the former Hazelton resident gave Canada its first gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
“It’s funny, I’ve seen the footage (of the final match) quite a bit and I can honestly say I will never, ever, get tired of seeing it,” Huynh said with a laugh. “Every time I see it, it still gives me chills, goosebumps. It can still bring tears to my eyes. I can still feel all those emotions that came with winning. I hope that doesn’t go away.”
Huynh, who beat three-time world champion Chiharu Icho of Japan for gold in a 48-kilogram bout, is scheduled to fly out of Calgary this morning, with Hazelton as her final destination. The northwestern B.C. community -- about 350 kilometres from Prince George -- has been eagerly awaiting Huynh’s arrival ever since the end of the Olympics. On Friday, she will be honoured during the community’s annual Winter Fest celebration. Huynh was born and raised in Hazelton and started her wrestling career when she was a Grade 10 student at Hazelton secondary school.
“It’s going to be pretty crazy,” Huynh said of her homecoming. “I’m excited to go home because the buildup has been so long.
“It seems like a long time before being able to get back to Hazelton and celebrate with my old community.”
Huynh’s trip to Hazelton will not take her through Prince George, even though she has family members who live here. Instead, she’ll fly from Calgary to Vancouver, and then from Vancouver to Smithers. She’ll cover the rest of her journey on Highway 16. Huynh, however, said plans are being made to possibly bring her to Prince George in the near future.
“There’s something cooking,” she said. “I’m not really sure. My agents, they handle my scheduling and they’ve told me that an organization is interested in having me there. But I’m not sure what’s going on yet.”
Huynh’s parents -- mom Mai Trinh and dad Viem Huynh -- now live in Prince George, as does her brother, Denny.
“We actually had Christmas in Prince George last year,” Carol Huynh said. “It was a lot of fun.”
Since she won her Olympic gold medal, Huynh has been in high demand.
“I’ve been able to do a lot of exciting events, like dropping the puck at a couple different NHL games, and going to the Toronto film festival,” she said. “Exciting things like that, but I’ve been able to do a lot of motivational speaking as well for elementary kids, high schools, corporate. I’ve just been trying to have fun with it all and enjoy it while it lasts.”
At one of the NHL hockey games, in Calgary where she now lives and trains, Huynh was given an autographed jersey.
“(The Flames) were very, very nice to me,” she said. “They gave me a jersey and it had my name on it and ‘08’ on the back and Jarome Iginla signed it for me.”
And yes, that gold medal has gone everywhere Huynh has gone.
“At all these events I go to, they request that I bring my medal,” she said. “So it’s always stashed in my purse or tucked in my pocket or something like that. So it hasn’t been seeing too much rest. It’s been put to work quite a bit over the last few months.”
Huynh did take a short break from training after the Olympics but she’s now back at work. Her next major competitions will be in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Kiev, Ukraine, both in February.
“I took about two and a half months off before getting back onto the mats,” she said.
“I’ve been getting into it slowly. I’ve probably been on the mats two or three times a week, which is half the time I usually am. I’ve been taking it relatively easy.”
 |
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 December 2008 )
|
|
|
Who's Online
We have 250 guests and 12 members online
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
