Montreal Gay Games

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

From the June 6, 2003 issue of Frontiers

 

Olympic Gold Medalist Elected as Co-President of Montreal 2006 Gay Games VII Board

 

http://www.frontiersnewsmagazine.com/images/issues/v22i03/n_tewksbury.jpg

 

Internationally renowned Canadian Olympian Mark Tewksbury was elected May 8 as president of the Montreal 2006 Gay Games board of directors. Acting as co-president with Tewksbury will be Lucie Duguay.

 

Tewksbury culminated his 16-year athletic career with what Montreal 2006 described as "a thrilling victory" in the 100-meter backstroke at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, where he set a new world record. Highlights from his career include seven world records; gold, silver and bronze medals in Olympic competition; four gold medals in Commonwealth Games competitions; seven medals in Pan Pacific competitions; and 21 national championship titles. He was voted Swimmer of the Year in 1987, 1991, 1992 and 1993 by Swimming Canada.

 

According to Montreal 2006 officials, Tewksbury's "numerous sports experience and his considerable knowledge of the inner workings of the International Sport Federations and the Olympic Movement will be a wealth of information and help for the Montreal 2006 Gay Games VII Organizing Committee.

 

"Today a retired athlete, Mark Tewksbury's current involvement speaks volumes about him as a person. He is the co-founder and chairman of Oath, an international organization devoted to upholding integrity through sports. He is an active humanitarian, investing his time in the Special Olympics and with people living with AIDS. In 1998 ... Mark publicly came out, becoming the first Canadian national sports hero to do so."

 

On a professional note, officials added, Tewksbury has hosted his own weekly television program, "How It's Made," on the Discovery Channel and has been a regular contributor to Canada's most popular morning news program, CTV's "Canada AM." He is now a worldwide motivational speaker; his clients include Coca-Cola, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, Revlon and Xerox.

 

Tewksbury's involvement with the Gay Games VII began at the bidding process in 2001 as the Games' honorary co-president and later as a board member. His current nomination as co-president comes at a crucial time for the Games, which are currently in the global planning process and working on the deployment of a sponsorship program in North America.

 

"Montreal 2006's vision is nothing short of capturing the hearts and minds of the world by presenting a show of human endurance, creativity and achievement that will serve as a legacy and source of inspiration for all Gay Games to come," Tewksbury said, adding, "It's thus an international rendezvous in Montreal in 2006."

 

On Oct. 25, 2001, Montreal won the right to host Gay Games VII from July 29-Aug. 5, 2006

[Rod Hagen]

I'm annoyed to see that once again the Games are NOT holding Climbing as an event. Why did they tease us with it in NYC and then Amsterdam, only to take it away in Sydney and Montreal? We brought a very large spectator crowd to our finals, and therefore made a significant amount of dinero for the Games. And yet theyd rather have unAmerican events like Soccer. Pisses me off.

 

It seems that rather than redeem my failure in Amsterdam, instead, like in Sydney, I'll have to settle for some other sport, a sport not as significant as rock climbing.