‘The medal is for everyone’
Pagans honour Olympic bronze medallist Hannah Darling; it’s been an emotional time for her parents
Hannah Darling and her family were not prepared for the reception her hometown has given her following her Olympic bronze medal win with Canada’s women’s sevens rugby team.
About 200 members of the rugby community turned out to fete Darling at the Nicholls Oval clubhouse Friday night. A day earlier she got a standing ovation from 3,537 fans at the Memorial Centre prior to a Lakers playoff game. A reception at the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame also drew a long lineup.
Dave and Leah Darling say it’s hard to believe how far their daughter has come since she left their Warsaw home four years ago, at 16, to train full-time with the national team on Vancouver Island.
“I can’t believe that many people paid attention to what she was doing,” Dave Darling said. “It’s very overwhelming. It really is. People you would never expect who watched all her games.”
Leah has seen Hannah play many times but she was never so nervous as watching the Olympics on TV.
“It was very emotional,” she said. “There were lots of highs and lows and excitement. We had family and friends watching with us so it was really nice. They did well. It was nice to see just how close the girls are. It is her other family.”
The Pagans presented Darling with a traditional engraved tankard and a session at local spa to help her relax during a six-week training break. When Darling asked if any free beer came with the tankard, club member David McCully replied: “I don’t think you should ever have to pay for a beer here.”
“It’s really emotional,” Hannah Darling said, of her reception. “I didn’t expect it to be this emotional. I knew people were behind me but for people to take their time out to come and see me and to see how many people are already enrolled in Pagans is just great.”
She said her appearance at the Lakers game was exhilarating.
“I was in the car and the driver said ‘Oh my gosh you’re getting a standing ovation.’ I realized, oh, that doesn’t always happen,” she said. “So many people came up to me who said they had never seen rugby sevens before and now they were hooked.”
Darling spent significant time taking pictures with young Pagans players placing her medal around their necks.
“The medal is for everyone,” she said. “I have those memories of being in Rio, but this is the part everyone else gets to share and take home with them. I want to feel the little kids dreams and if they want to put on the medal, that’s great.”
Long-time Pagan Ken Hamilton lives across the street from the Darlings and used to throw a ball around with Hannah.
“It’s nice to see someone in the club make it to that level,” said Hamilton. “She was always a really good athlete. It didn’t matter what she did, volleyball, hockey, any kind of sport. She was always top of the league.”
Sam Baker has been a Pagan for 50 years and coached Darling in her early days.
“It’s sort of a fulfilment of your dreams when you coach someone who not only gets to the Olympics but wins a bloody medal,” Baker said. “The only way it gets better is if it goes to gold. Knowing Hannah, in four years that’s where it will be.”
Mac Arnott coached Darling for two years on the Lakefield District Secondary School volleyball team.
“She was a great volleyball player,” Arnott said. “It was a toss-up four years ago about whether she’d play volleyball or rugby. There was a lot of discussion. Rugby is what she chose and, obviously, it worked out for the best. It’s awesome to see.”