Hundreds gather for first annual Nathan O’Brien Superhero Sports Decathlon

CALGARY – Close to two hundred kids are taking part in a special two-day event to honour the memory of five-year-old Nathan O’Brien, the Calgary boy who’s life ended far too early.

The first annual Nathan O’Brien Sports Decathlon got underway in Springbank, just west of Calgary Saturday.

It’s now been one year since five-year-old Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents Alvin and Kathryn Liknes disappeared from a home in the community of Parkhill.

Jennifer O’Brien, Nathan’s mother, reported the three missing on June 30th, when she went to pick up her son after he’d stayed the night for a sleepover.

Nathan’s family says it’s a perfect way to honour the young superhero’s memory and spirit.

Never before have so many young superheroes gathered in one place.

“It’s for Nathan O’Brien, he went missing about a year ago. Yeah so this is what that’s for,” one little boy said.

Dozens of kids are given superhero shirts representing Nathan’s favorites: hulk, ironman, superman and spiderman.  Then they split up to take part in five sports with a focus on skill development.

“This is something he would have loved. The superhero theme, all the different sports,” said Jeff Atkinson from Kidzfirst.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is something he would have loved. The superhero theme, all the different sports," said Jeff Atkinson from Kidzfirst.

The O’Brien family says it’s a perfect way to honour Nathan’s spirit and memory.

“He’d be running all around and just be so pleased and I do agree that his spirit is certainly here and that’s what everybody is feeding off,” said Jennifer O’Brien, Nathan’s mom.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He'd be running all around and just be so pleased and I do agree that his spirit is certainly here and that's what everybody is feeding off," said Jennifer O'Brien, Nathan's mom.

Luke O’Brien, Nathan’s 13-year-old brother, said it was great to have kids come out to play and have fun.

“It’s also good that it’s part of my brother and my brother always wanted to play and have fun so it’s good that he can share this with other kids too,” Luke said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's also good that it's part of my brother and my brother always wanted to play and have fun so it's good that he can share this with other kids too," Luke said.

While the weather forced some of the sports indoors because it was very cold, the Aussie Rules football players wouldn’t have any of that. They chose to stay outside and brave the elements.

“The fact that on a pretty miserable day all these kids have turned out. what it says is out of severe tragedy, a really fantastic event like this can come about,” said Milo Lombardi from the Calgary Kangaroos Australian Football Club.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The fact that on a pretty miserable day all these kids have turned out. what it says is out of severe tragedy, a really fantastic event like this can come about," said Milo Lombardi from the Calgary Kangaroos Australian Football Club.

The Nathan O’Brien Children’s Foundation and the Kidzfirst Grassroots Development Foundation are partners in the event, which they plan to host annually.

Proceeds from the event will go towards providing underprivileged kids in the Calgary area access to long-term skill development opportunities through the Kidszfirst Grassroots Development Foundation.

The event is open to the public and goes until Sunday.