
Sandra James (née Henderson c. 1960)
[Andy Riga (July 15, 2016]
Montreal Olympics photo flashback: torch bearers made history
''Montreal Gazette''. is a former
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
gymnast
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
best known for co-lighting the
Olympic Flame
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...
with
Stéphane Préfontaine at the
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. She appeared on the front page of ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...
''.
Sandra Henderson tried out for the Olympic gymnastics team at the age of 16 to compete in the 1976 summer games but did not make it due to injuries. She retired from gymnastics in 1977 but continued competing at the university level when she was a student at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...
.
[Pickering woman recalls 1976 flame Pickering woman recalls 1976 flame]
durhamregion.com. December 16, 2009
1980 Olympics
At the beginning of the
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
Sandra Henderson, along with Stéphane, were given the task of delivering the Olympic flag from Montreal mayor
Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, (18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was Mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986.
Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transi ...
to Lord Killanin in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. Historically the Olympic flag was passed from host city mayor to the next host city mayor but Canada was one of 64 countries that boycotted the games that year.
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References
Living people
Olympic cauldron lighters
1960 births
{{Canada-athletics-bio-stub