By Kimberly Brown, Family Historian
Last Friday, the Olympic torch was lit once again to commence the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver! Hundreds of hopeful athletes have gathered from all over the world to have their chance at Olympic gold. Many of these athletes are not alone in their pursuit of Olympic dreams; some are the children of former Olympians or are competing with their siblings. This week, we'll spotlight some of those athletes for who the Olympics are a family affair:
- Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, twenty-year-old twin sisters from North Dakota, have both been named to the women's national hockey team.
- Cathy, Chris and Allison Reed were all born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and will all compete in ice dancing-but not for the United States. Cathy and Chris, who compete as partners, will skate for Japan (their father is American and their mother Japanese). Fifteen-year-old Allison, whose partner Otar Japaridze is Georgian, will skate for Georgia.
- Olympian spirit and figure skating run deep in the Sato family. Nobuo Sato competed for Japan in 1960 and 1964. His wife, Kumiko Okawa, competed in 1964 and 1968. Their daughter Yuka Sato placed fifth in the 1994. In Vancouver, father and daughter will go head-to-head; Yuka is coaching American figure skater Jeremy Abbott, and her father is coaching Japan's Takahiko Kozuka.
- Canadian speed skaters Jamie and Jessica Gregg are the children of NHL hockey player Randy Gregg and two-time speed-skating Olympian Kathy Gordan. They live and train in Calgary with their brother Ryan and their sister Sara.
- Britt and Michael Janyk, Canadian alpine skiers, made history in 2004 when they became the first siblings to win national titles in the same year.
- Ophelie David is the daughter of Hungarian basketball player Jean Racz, who played for Hungary in 1964 before moving to France. Ophelie competed for Hungary as an alpine skier in 1994. In Vancouver, she'll compete as a cross-country skier for France.
- Charles and Francois Hamelin of Quebec will both compete in the 5000m relay and 1000m in short track speed skating. Their father Yves Hamelin is the director of the Canadian short track program.
So whether your favorite event is figure skating or ski jumping, get online at nbcolympics.com (or turn on NBC on your TV) and cheer on these Olympic families.