On Friday, 5th February 2010, with a week to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the Olympic flame entered Olympic country, as it reached the resort of Whistler. Whistler Creekside will host the Olympic Alpine Skiing events, while the near-by Whistler Olympic Park will stage the Cross-Country, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined and Biathlon competitions. The sliding events of bobsleigh, skeleton and luge will also be held there. The Olympic Torch Relay visited both Whistler and Whistler Olympic Park. Thousands of people gathered to glimpse some of the action.
Canada's famous "Crazy Canucks" were honored during the Olympic Torch Relay in Whistler, when Olympian Steve Podborski skied the cauldron into the celebration site while Julia Murray, daughter of Dave Murray and an aspiring competitor in ski cross during the Vancouver Games, carried the torch into town. Podborski won a bronze medal at the Lake Placid Games in 1980 and was the first North American to win the World Cup downhill season title. He is also Canada's assistant Chef de Mission for the Vancouver Games. Dave Murray moved to Whistler, where he started a ski school, and the downhill course for men has been named in his honour. Murray died in 1990.
The Olympic flame continued its journey on Sunday towards Vancouver and will spend the final days before the Opening Ceremony on Friday visiting the Olympic sites and communities in and around Vancouver.
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