After being moved by the story of an Alberta woman who deprives herself of sleep in order to watch Canada’s Olympic athletes on TV and cheer them on through the night, a high-profile Olympic medallist is giving her quite a memento as an expression of gratitude.
“I don’t know Becky, but her story on Global [News] really touched me,” Canadian rugby star Jen Kish tweeted on Monday.
“So on behalf of all Canadian Olympians, I wanted to say thank you by giving her this.”
The “this” Kish refers to in her tweet is the rugby player’s Olympic opening ceremony jacket from the 2016 Rio Games.
“I was kind of dumbfounded to begin with, super excited and extremely honoured,” Olympics fan Becky Marsh told Global News from her home in Spruce Grove, Alta., on Monday night. “It’s amazing.”
On Sunday, Global News profiled Marsh and her exceptional devotion to cheering on Canada’s Olympic athletes in Pyeongchang. Marsh said she believes she’s only slept a couple of hours every night since the Pyeongchang Olympics started. She watches the coverage every day from the time they start airing live in the late afternoon until the early hours of the morning, making sure she doesn’t wake up her husband or three children.
READ MORE: Canadian Olympics junkies keeping odd hours to catch live events
Watch below: Becky Marsh has been as close to the Olympic action as anyone can get without traveling to Korea. She’s watched every single event from the comfort of her home. Julia Wong filed this report on Feb. 18, 2018.
Marsh said she has watched every Olympic Games since she was a toddler.
“I’ve always had a huge appreciation for Canadian supporters,” Kish tweeted on Monday.
Marsh told Global News she will not only be receiving Kish’s signed jacket on Wednesday, she’ll also meet the 2016 Summer Olympics bronze medallist.
“I watched all of the Rio Games as well so I’m super excited and honoured,” Marsh said.
According to Marsh, she learned of the gift on Monday afternoon. First someone sent her a message on Facebook asking her if she could connect with Jen Kish.
“So we got connected via text message. And Jen mentioned that she would be interested in giving me her opening ceremonies jacket from the Rio Games.”
Marsh said the gift is all the more meaningful because one of the athletes she admires so much made the effort to try and connect with her.
“It’s kind of surreal,” she said. “I cheer for each and every one of them (Canadian Olympic athletes) like they could be my best friend, my sister, my brother. I feel a real kinship with them even though of course I haven’t met any of them before.
“It was really amazing to have her (Kish) track me down and touch base with me and offer such an amazing gift to me and I’m so excited.”
In December, Kish announced she has one more season left in her before she retires. The Canadian women’s rugby sevens captain announce her decision on Twitter.
READ MORE: Canadian women’s Rugby Sevens captain Jen Kish: ‘This will be my last season’
“Officially calling it. This will be my last season in the red & white. It’s been a great 13 yrs. My goal: To inspire a few more ppl to join rugby & help my teammates win a world series, CWG’s & a 7s.”
Watch below: In August 2016, Jen Kish spoke to Global News about winning the bronze and inspiring other young athletes to follow their dreams.
Comments