Golden Gordon
Sydney Mines adds Special Olympian Aimee Gordon to sign
When she was born, Aimee Gordon’s family was told she might never walk, talk, hear or see.
Instead she defied all odds and grew up skating her way into the hearts of a community.
On Saturday, the gold medallist at the Special Olympics World Winter Games had her name added to signage welcoming visitors to her hometown of Sydney Mines.
Gordon reached the top of the international speedskating podium in March when she won the 500-metre race and also took home bronze in the 333-metre.
Known for her mischievous sense of humour, the 47-yearold made several wisecracks before Saturday’s unveiling.
When it was all over, she humbly recited her signature tagline: “Thanks buddy.”
“She wasn’t going to walk period,” said her father Skipper Gordon before the ceremony held at the community’s entrance near Highway 125.
“Maybe never talk, never hear, never see. They wanted us to put her in a home at nine months and I said ‘Not until we cross that bridge that we have to.’”
Skipper said many people have praised him for teaching his daughter to skate at age seven, but he doesn’t take credit for Aimee’s success.
“She learned how to skate herself,” he said. “I took her to the rink one week and I held her up. The next week halfway through a song her brother went by her and ‘How come he can skate alone?’ (and she said) ‘So can I,’ and that was the end of that.”
Not only was Gordon the first athlete from the island to win a medal at last year’s international competition in Austria, she was also the first to ever participate at the games.
Following the win, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality declared an Aimee Gordon Day and presented her with keys to the city.
She was named Special Olympics female athlete of the year for Nova Scotia in 2008 and 2017, and has won numerous medals at the national level.
Her father said it is unbelievable to witness how far she’s come in speedskating and other sports.
Today, Aimee continues to skate at the Sydney Mines rink where her athletic career all began.
“She goes in and torments everybody in there and they torment her back,” her father said. “When she goes away she doesn’t really like the competitiveness of it because there’s no music and there’s nobody to carry on with her. It’s a formality.”
Members of the local Royal Canadian Legion approached the municipality several months ago about creating a lasting symbol of Gordon’s dedication to sport.
The speedskater’s name now falls underneath a welcome sign featuring two celebrated musical acts from Sydney Mines: Bruce Guthro and the Barra MacNeils. A second sign bearing Gordon’s name will be placed along Shore Road.
Sydney Mines is also home to a statue and placard paying homage to late resident Johnny Miles, a two-time winner of the Boston Marathon.
“We’re very fortunate to have four really renowned personnel in a small community of Sydney Mines and we’re glad she’s joining the ranks,” said CBRM Coun. Clarence Prince.
“She just makes everyone smile where ever she goes,” said Eddie Orrell, MLA for Northside-Westmount. “You just couldn’t have a better ambassador than her.”