WARSAW, ONTARIO HOSTS HANNAH DARLING DAY
Article published September 21, 2016
Hannah Darling has given a lot of speeches since winning an Olympic medal in Rio, but none meant more to her than the one she gave Tuesday.
Sept. 20, 2016 was proclaimed Hannah Darling Day in the Township of Douro-Dummer.
About 60 supporters gathered at Millennium Garden in Warsaw to recognize the accomplished athlete - many of them watched her grow up in the community east of Peterborough.
Darling won bronze with Canada’s women’s sevens rugby team in Rio in July.
In 2015, she won a gold medal at the Pan American Games as a member of the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team.
She was captain of Canada’s Youth Olympic Games team, which finished second at Nanjing 2014.
Douro-Dummer Mayor J. Murray Jones read what he believed was the township’s first official proclamation in history from the park’s gazebo Tuesday afternoon.
When Darling, 20, took the podium to say a few words, she was overcome with emotions.
Though she’s delivered countless speeches over the last few years, this one was different. This one hit home.
“This one definitely means the most to me,” she said, trying to fight back the tears. “This is a huge day and it makes me so proud and so honoured to be from Warsaw and to have all of your support - it’s so humbling.”
Looking into the crowd, Darling said she saw the faces that raised her, the community that always stood behind her.
“You don’t realize everything and everyone that’s behind you until moments like this happen and I realize that you guys were there the whole time and I definitely felt that every single time I hit the field,” she said, her voice quivering.
Before each game, Darling said, she said she’d write “family” on her wrist or on her sock, and that included everyone at the garden Tuesday.
She thanked the crowd, her community, profusely for all their support, crying throughout her speech.
“Thank you for everything and helping me become the person that I am today because it was a community effort, not just me, that’s for sure.”
Growing up, Darling never thought she’d go to the Olympics. She thought Olympians were superstars and she couldn’t accomplish what they’d achieved.
Now, she wants to inspire youth who might feel like she once did.
“I want to show the younger kids in the community that it is possible and it’s not unreachable, because I’m here and I never thought I would be and if you put the hard work in, you’ve got it.”
Darling’s family made up a large portion of the crowd, with her mom, dad, grandparents, aunt, uncle and great-aunts and uncles all there to support her.
“It’s nice for her to recognized. We’re very proud,” said Leah Darling, Hannah’s mom.
Mindy Hamilton, Hannah’s “second mom,” was also part of the group.
She was at the hospital when Hannah was born. Hamilton’s husband and Hannah’s dad have been friends since kindergarten.
Hamilton thought the event was a great way for Hannah’s community to show their appreciation for what she’s accomplished.
Though Hannah Darling Day was officially only a one-time affair, Hamilton thought it’d be great to make it everlasting.
“That would be wonderful to name a day after her, because not everyone gets an Olympic medal from a little town like Warsaw,” she said.
JNyznik@postmedia.com
About HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens Victoria/Langford:
The HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens is a two-day tournament held on April 16 and 17 hosted at the home of Canadian Rugby at Westhills Stadium, and will feature 12 of the world’s top women’s rugby sevens teams. The Canada Women’s Sevens will be the fourth stop in a five-stop world tour as part of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.