Alumnus helps to kick off Olympic festivities

RICHMOND, British Columbia -- All Catriona Le May Doan could do was smile and wave.

The two-time Olympic champion speedskater was supposed to light a section of the cauldron during the opening ceremony Friday night.

But a malfunction prevented the hydraulic arm from rising out of the floor, forcing her to improvise in front of more than 60,000 people at B.C. Place.

She along with the other three torch lighters, which included Steve Nash, a Santa Clara alumnus, waited while technicians tried to fix the problem.

"I stayed really calm, and everybody goes, 'You were very relaxed,'" Le May Doan told The Canadian Press on Saturday before heading to work as a TV speedskating analyst for the men's 5,000-meter race. "The mastermind behind it, David Atkins, he's in our ear and he was so calm, and I know he must have been panicking, but my panic was our torches are going to go out.

"I'm thinking, this can't go on forever. I kept hearing in my ear, 'Keep the music going, keep the music going,' and I'm thinking it's fine about the music, what about the flame?"

No worries on that front. Three of the cauldron's four pillars eventually rose and were lit by Nash, Nancy Greene and Wayne Gretzky. Le May Doan considered walking over to join Nash, but was instructed not to.

Nash was drafted to the Phoenix Suns out of Santa Clara in 1996, having graduated with a degree in Sociology. He would go on to be named the NBA's Most Valuable Player during the 2004-2005 season.

While playing for Santa Clara, he was named the WCC Conference Player of the Year twice. As a senior, he was named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press and the USBWA.

In September 2006, Nash had his jersey retired and raised to the rafters in the Leavey Event Center.

Nash was born in South Africa, but grew up in Canada, which is why he was chosen as one of the four all-star athletes to light the torch.

Students were thrilled to see a former student representing not only Canada, but also the university.

"I think it's nice that he can represent and be proud of his country and at the same time it makes our school look really good," freshman Patrick Sutorius said. "He's a beast."

Jennifer Saldana agreed. "That makes me kind of proud because I can say he came here," she said.

For Nash and the other torch lighters, the technical malfunction of the pillar left them on their toes.

"It was entertaining because it added a little twist to everything. And how many millions of times had it been rehearsed? And that never happened," Le May Doan said.

She had known since Jan. 19 that she would be part of the ceremony but learned only Wednesday that Gretzky, Nash, Greene and Rick Hansen also were participating when the five were brought into a room together.

Keeping things on the down-low wasn't easy. During rehearsals for the ceremony, she had to pretend to leave B.C. Place and then sneak back in, all while doing her TV prep work.

"I have literally been running on 2ý to three hours of sleep, so I just wanted to be able to say that's why I'm so tired, that what's I've been doing," she said. "It wasn't hard keeping it a secret and it was also kind of fun."

Le May Doan was also the first Canadian, along with triathlete Simon Whitfield, to receive the torch after it arrived from Greece on Oct. 30. She was Canada's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

"It's kind of neat now comparing different situations," she said. "I got really emotional just as we were going to go out to our positions and Rick Hansen gave me a hug and said, 'I'm so happy to be doing this with you, kid.' I was just like, oh, and the music is playing and I walked by the Olympic flag and they're getting ready to go. That's what I love about the opening ceremonies, the symbolism of the power of the games."

From AP wire. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.