ANDY CLARK
Elvis Stojko says he can laugh about it now, but when he recently got a call from the president of the Canadian Olympic Committee he thought he might have been in trouble for something.
"Throughout my career, people have known me as being outspoken and ruffling a few feathers," Stojko said Friday.
Instead, the two-time Olympic silver medallist in figure skating said it was a great honour to learn he'll be inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.
Stojko will be one of five Canadian sports figures inducted Saturday at a ceremony in Moncton, N.B.
"To be inducted really caps off the career and sort of finishes off with a bow-tie at the end," he said. "It's a great honour."
The native of Richmond Hill, Ont., now lives in Mexico, but still skates in shows and provides some instruction.
He said it's important for him to pass a message along to young people that competing and striving to achieve your best is about more than just winning.
"It's about the things that you do and the way that you do it," he said. "It's about really digging deep and finding out who you are and defeating those demons so you can go on with the rest of your life and live a life that's meaningful and giving back to the community and other people."
Stojko will be inducted along with swimmer Curtis Myden, bobsledder David MacEachern, women's hockey coach Melody Davidson and Marc Lemay - a builder in the sport of cycling.
During a news conference Friday, Myden said he was humbled by the honour.
"It's been almost 10 years since I competed for Canada, and coming here today and seeing these banners and chatting with the other inductees brings back a lot of very exciting and rewarding memories that I haven't thought about in a while," he said choking back emotion.
Born in Calgary, Myden is a three-time Olympian and triple Olympic medallist.
Meanwhile Melody Davidson said she was honoured that she'll enter the Hall of Fame, but is quick to note that while she's no longer coaching at the national team level, she still has a lot to offer to women's hockey.
In 2010 she led the Canadian Olympic women's hockey team to it's third consecutive Olympic title.
"I still don't know exactly how I ended up in a sport which is so male dominated and had so many challenges, but I'm glad that I did because the opportunities I've had have been tremendous," she said.
Davidson joked that she has already scouted out the location of a big screen television where she can watch the NHL playoffs immediately following Saturday night's induction ceremony.
Marc Lemay is being inducted in the builder category for his work as a leader in the sport of cycling.
He helped introduce mountain biking to the Olympics. It was first contested at the 1996 games in Atlanta.
Lemay said all Olympic athletes work very hard to compete and achieve their best, and it's time to drop the term "amateur sport."
"For me it's elite and development ... the time for amateur is over."
He explained that in French, amateur translates as recreational, which doesn't apply to the level of Olympic competition.
David MacEachern was unable to attend the Friday news conference but was expected in time for all the activities for the athletes Saturday.
MacEachern is a three-time Olympian, competing in both the two-man and four-man bobsleigh at the Winter Games in 1992, 1994 and 1998.
Saturday's induction ceremony caps a week of events throughout Atlantic Canada involving Canadian Olympic athletes.