It was a hero’s welcome for PG snowboard Meryeta O’Dine who returned home with two Olympic Bronze Medals around her neck today (Tuesday).
The 24-year-old became the first local athlete to reach the podium at the Olympic games, placing in the top 3 of the women’s and mixed snowboard cross events.
When asked what she’s most looking forward to on her return to the northern capital, O’Dine’s answer was quite simple.
“I am very excited for some A & W, I’m very excited to see my friends and have some downtime with them a little bit but yeah, it’s good.”
“To come home to all of this, it’s just amazing.”
Medal shot from @meryetaodine #CityOfPG #PrinceGeorge #northernbc #Beijing2022 pic.twitter.com/8jV2VBgati
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) February 15, 2022
O’Dine mentioned it was really gratifying to crack the top three in each of her events after years of struggle and hard work.
“There has been a lot of years of ups and downs and it felt really, really cool to be able to stand at that world stage.”
“I just took every step kind of day by day to make sure I was doing the best that I could to get back to feeling like myself on the World Cup tour and it was mostly to not put too much pressure on myself for the Olympics. As long as I didn’t put too much pressure on myself, I knew I would do good.”
She's back! @meryetaodine has landed in #CityOfPG #princegeorge #Beijing2022 pic.twitter.com/P5ihIO9zCA
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) February 15, 2022
Other than some very tired feet, O’Dine stated her body is holding up just fine.
“Honestly, my body is doing good. My ankles are pretty swollen as I have been in transit for over 50 hours so I am excited to get them a little elevated.”
The City of Prince George will be hosting a celebration to honour O’Dine at Canada Games Plaza on February 26th.