Elite athletes support Games bid

Re: “Support bid for Commonwealth Games,” letter, Oct. 12. I was one of the many elite athletes who moved to Victoria in the 1990s to pursue high performance, and I directly benefited from both the infrastructure and the programs arising from the legacy of the Commonwealth Games in 1994.

The affirmation of excellence and how our presence in the city was benefiting the greater community gave me the extra support that I needed as a high-performance athlete. We interacted with the public and the youth, through school programs and mentoring, and we became role models for hard work and healthy lifestyles.

I chose to remain in this wonderful city and now call it my home. I am raising my children here, working and volunteering many hours in the schools and community to raise awareness of the positive impact of physical activity in our lives, and I speak to hundreds of youth and adult athletes every year about finding joy through sport.

Elite athletes are role models for hard work, personal success and physical activity; here is a chance for our citizens, especially our children, to see this first hand.

It is without hesitation that I fully support the 2022 Commonwealth Games coming to Victoria, for all the reasons outlined in the impact studies — affordable housing, recreation infrastructure, economic influx — and for the less visible but urgent issues of mental health and quality of life, which are so hard to quantify, but which mean everything to the future vitality of our communities and our children. Lucy Smith Six-time winner of the Times Colonist 10K 19-time Canadian champion