There were some golden moments for residents of The Gardens in Qualicum Beach on Wednesday.
It’s a rare treat when you get a visit to your house from a Canadian Olympic athlete who lets you hold a gold medal, but the extraordinary opportunity occurred for the seniors who call The Gardens their home.
Last week, Brianne Jenner, a member of the Canadian women’s hockey team, brought her prestigious hardware to the facility where her grandma resides.
Not only did Jenner share stories with the residents about her experience at the Sochi Winter Olympics, she also passed around her gold medal, posed for photos and signed pictures for the appreciative crowd. Among the residents dressed in patriotic red and white was a very proud Betty Jenner.
Betty said having the honour of being the grandmother of an Olympic athlete never really impacted her until this visit.
Betty emphasized that regardless of her impressive athletic achievements, her granddaughter has always been wonderful.
“She is a great kid … she can do anything and I am very proud of her.”
With a little more than three minutes left in the gold medal game Feb. 20 in Sochi against the U.S. and Canada losing 2-0, Jenner scored Canada’s first goal in a dramatic finish that would see Canada win 3-2 in overtime.
Her grandmother said she was on pins and needles for that game.
“I watched it on TV and I was so nervous because it was touch and go,” she recalled.
The 23-year-old student who began her collegiate career at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York has been balancing her university and hockey career since 2010. She admitted she was sad she didn’t make it to Qualicum Beach sooner so her grandfather could have also held her gold medal.
Fred Jenner, who was also a resident of The Gardens, passed away a month ago.
“I am happy I was able to get out here and share this with my grandmother … but I wish I could have gotten here when my grandfather was here. It is special to share this with my grandma and to meet all of her friends here,” said Jenner.
Dave Jenner, Brianne’s father, was also in town for a visit with his brother Craig Jenner and his wife Andrea, who live in Qualicum Beach.
