Town set to honour hometown sports hero
Council approves plan to buy bobsled to put on display in celebration of Olympic gold-medal win by Justin Kripps
Summerland council has given a bright green light to buying a bobsled in recognition of Justin Kripps as the first Olympic gold medallist from the community.
Kripps teamed with brakeman Alex Kopacz to win gold in the two-man bobsled event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong-Chang, South Korea.
They were part of the second-ever tie for an Olympic bobsled gold medal, matching the four-run total time of Germans Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis. To celebrate the Canadians’ win, Summerland council on Monday directed staff to pursue opportunities to buy a bobsled and to try to find community partners for the project.
The bobsled idea came from a conversation Coun. Doug Holmes had with Kripps when he was in Summerland in June.
“I was asking him what they did with their old bobsleds and was wondering if it would be possible to get one to put on permanent display. So Justin’s mother, Libby, took the initiative and started liaising with Bobsleigh Canada,” Holmes said in an email after the council meeting.
Old bobsleds are in short supply because they are rebuilt and used for development teams. However, Bobsleigh Canada did say it had an older sled it could sell for $7,500. A new four-man sled costs at least $120,000.
Holmes brought the idea of buying a sled to council for discussion.
“I am confident we’ll get the support from the community,” he wrote.
There are numerous potential locations for display of the bobsled, including outdoors because sleds can withstand the elements.
“It’ll be somewhere downtown where it will be easy to access and stand in front of and get a selfie,” Holmes wrote.
There was a bobsled at Whistler Village during the 2010 Olympics for kids to sit on while having their pictures taken and there is one at the Jamaica airport, chief administrative officer Linda Tynan told council.
“I think it would prove to be a big attraction. It’s also, of course, a great way to pay tribute to the amazing achievement of a homegrown Olympic hero and serve as inspiration to today’s youth,” Holmes wrote.