A little bit of London came to Water Street in the form of a bright blue taxicab, and residents were clamouring to get into its backseat.
It’s all part of RBC’s campaign to send messages from home to Canadian athletes abroad. The authentic 1993 Fairway London cab has been touring across the country, and made its stop in St. John’s on Monday.
Residents climbed into the backseat and taped messages of support to send to Canadian athletes in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
One such well-wisher was Jillian Forsey, who is starting Grade 12 at Stephenville High School in the fall. The 17-year-old is no stranger to the athletic world. She was part of Team Canada at the 2012 North American Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross-country Running Championships.
It’s at the NACAC that she met one of Canada’s 2012 Olympians, Cameron Levins. Levins, who’s 23 years old and hails from Black Creek, B.C., won the senior men’s eight-km race for Canada at the NACAC. Forsey placed 13th in the junior women’s three-km race, helping the team place second overall.
“I’m really excited that he qualified and I’ll get to watch him in London,” Forsey said.
Levins will represent Canada in the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre events in London later this July. He’s gone from an underdog to one of Canada’s hopefuls after winning both the NACAC and the NCAA Division I championships, where he played for Southern Utah University.
Others may have had less of a personal connection to an Olympian, but wished the whole team well with just as much gusto.
A young couple touring St. John’s popped into the cab to give all Canadian athletes a cheer. “Bring home the Gold,” Justin Williams said.
Even the local branch manager, David Works, made a tape to send to London. He’s rooting for Katarina Roxon, from Kippens, who is part of Canada’s Paralympic swim team.
“I hope she wins,” Works said.
robin.levinson@thetelegram.com
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