Canada's Man in Motion

Athlete keeps moving—and inspiring—despite paralyzing injuries.

Rick Hansen is a hero in Canada. The man who carried the Olympic Torch into the opening ceremonies at the start of the Winter Games, was severely injured in an accident at the age of 15.

At first, he thought his dreams of becoming an Olympic athlete were crushed along with his spinal cord. Hansen has since won 19 international wheelchair marathons and has six medals as a Paralympian.

His passion is to make the world accessible to everyone, which he works toward with his Rick Hansen Foundation.

In 1985 Hansen earned his Canadian nickname when he wheeled more than 40,000 km through 34 countries. He raised $26 million for spinal cord injury research and quality of life programs. He inspired me in just the brief time we got to talk while at the Olympic games this week. Check it out.

—Daniel Wetter

Olympic Reporters

Hometown Reporters on the slopes in Canada.

Two reporters from my hometown NBC affiliate took some time to talk to me about their jobs covering the games in Vancouver.

Dierdre Fitzpatrick and Brian Hickey of KCRA 3 in Sacramento, California, had already been on the job for three weeks when they stopped to review their whirlwind of coverage. Click on play!

—Daniel Wetter

Olympic Doctor

Who helps the athletes stay on top of their game?

Staying healthy is a huge concern for every athlete competing in the Olympic Games. To help them do that, the Olympic Committee keeps a staff of about 16 medical professionals on hand to help.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jack Taunton described a day in his life in Vancouver, which begins sometime around 5 a.m.

I also spoke to GE Canada Vice President Peter Robertson about some of the new portable devices used for a diagnosis on the go.

Click on play for the whole story.

—Daniel Wetter

Canada Premier is Maple Leaf Proud!

British Columbia's Premier talks to Scholastic Kids Press Corps about the wonder of the Winter Games.

The Premier of British Columbia Gordon Campbell has put aside his business suits for maple leaf gloves and shirts during the Winter Olympic Games. His province is home to Vancouver and Whistler, the two venues for this year's competition. (A premier is the equivalent to a governor in the U.S. and a province is the same as a state.)

When I ran into Campbell in Vancouver this week, I got more than a prized pair of maple leaf gloves. I got an interview! Check it out by clicking on play!

—Daniel Wetter

NBC Reporters Live the Games

Almost as many journalists as athletes at the Winter Games.

I ran into NBC’s Chief Medical Editor Nancy Snyderman and NBC’s Weekend Nightly News anchor and Today Show host Lester Holt this week. They have been in Vancouver, British Columbia, for three weeks now.

“It’s crazy,” Snyderman said about their busy schedule.

The day I saw them began at 2 a.m. for each as they had to appear on the Today Show on East Coast Time. Vancouver is three hours behind the New York Today Show broadcast. They also both had to work all day on other reports for the Nightly News and other NBC shows.

This is the second Olympic games for Snyderman.

“This is like being invited to the big party,” Snyderman said. “And even if you don’t have a story on every single day, you know you’re part of an extraordinary experience.”

For Holt, who has been covering the Olympics since Salt Lake City, Utah, hosted the winter games in 2002, this is his fifth time around.

“I enjoy covering the Olympics. I love the fact that the stars of the show are people we don’t think about until every two or four years,” Holt said. “They’re not like Hollywood stars, they’re not authors, they are just young people who excel at a sport.”

Holt then said something that I had experienced already in talking to the athletes here.

“They’re real people,” he said.

Snyderman agreed.

“There’s a story behind every single athlete,” she said. “What’s fun for Lester and me, is that we’re hard news people, so we come and do sports—great stories—and look at athletes who represent everything that’s great about all these countries.”

Snyderman’s favorite moment here at the Olympics is when she took to the ice to learn first-hand about a particular sport.

“Well, I’ve become a Canadian curler,” she said, with a huge grin. From a health perspective, curling has not had any bad news. That’s why it’s “hip,” she says.

One of Holt’s favorite memories so far occurred at the opening ceremonies.

“I was actually touched by the Canadian patriotism,” Holt said.

Snyderman has been to Canada many times, and has never seen Canadians so pleased.

“I’ve never seen Canadians busting with pride like I have now,” she said.

Both Lester Holt and Nancy Snyderman say it is an extraordinary experience to be at the Olympic games. I agree with them on that one, too!

—Daniel Wetter 

PHOTO: Journalists (from left) Nancy Snyderman, Daniel Wetter, and Lester Holt at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo Courtesy Daniel Wetter)

Olympic Flame Burns Bright

Canadians shine, too, as host of games.

The Olympic flame draws a big crowd of admirers as it burns in its cauldron at Jack Poole Plaza west of the Vancouver Convention Center. The center serves as the International Broadcast Center during the 2010 Winter Games.

Perhaps it's biggest admirers are Canadians, proud of their country's role as host of these games. I talked to two young Canadian Olympic fans at the flames this week. Click on play to see their story.

—Daniel Wetter

Gold Medal Restaurant

Chef Tojo's world-famous sushi a favorite of athletes and fans.

If you're following the 2010 Winter Olympic Games on NBC, then you've heard about Tojo's. The Vancouver sushi restaurant sis world-famous for its fresh ingredients and good food, thanks to the creativity of owner/chef Hidekaza Tojo. The inventor of the inside-out roll, Tojo has been featured on the Today Show numerous times and is a favorite with athletes and fans.

You can check out recipes for his famous California Roll and a newly created Celebration 2010 Roll introduced on the menu just for the Winter Games. I took a trip behind the sushi bar this week to talk with Tojo about what makes his food so special.

—Daniel Wetter

Picabo Street at the 2010 Games

1998 gold medalist big fan of American skiers.

Olympians of all kinds are roaming the streets of Vancouver, Canada, these days. I ran into Picabo Street this week.

An Alpine ski racer, Street won gold at the Nagano Games in 1998 games. She had a lot to say about the 21st Olympic Winter games.

“At this winter games, the Americans are doing amazing,” she said. “ It has been so fun to be here, and to be American.”

Street said she is a big fan of American alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, whom she met years ago when Vonn was a kid.

“I met Lindsey when she was 9 years old,” Street said. “She looked at me with an intensity and focus that was very apparent at that age. I think Lindsey is spectacular.”

I could not resist asking her how it feels to be on the Olympic podium, winning gold.

“Receiving a gold medal is something I struggle to put words to,” she said. “It is amazing, it was a dream come true.”

Street told me how long she had been dreaming about this miracle.

“It was something I dreamed of since I was 10 years old,” she said. “This is what I have wished for on the first star I see at night, on my birthday cakes, on 11:11 on the clock, on anything that you could come up with that’s wish-worthy. I was making a wish to win a gold medal in the Olympics.”

She described the actual moment on the podium.

“I kind of looked over at them [the other athletes] like, ‘This is really intense, isn’t it?’ And they agreed,” she said.

Street had some advice for kids who dream of being in the Olympic games.

“You have to work hard. First and foremost, you have to never give up,” she said. “Remember to smile. Remember you’re worth it.”

—Daniel Wetter

Photo: Kid Reporter Daniel Wetter and gold medalist Picabo Street at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, CAnada. (Photo Courtesy Daniel Wetter)

Olympic Great Carl Lewis in Vancouver

Summer meets Winter at 2010 Olympic Games.

I ran into Carl Lewis at an event for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, this week. Lewis won nine gold medals in four consecutive summer Olympic Games.

His sports need no snow and very little equipment: He excells in the long jump, 100-meter run, 200-meter run, and 400-meter relay.

Lewis was named one of the 20th century's greatest athletes at the Sports Illustrated 20th Century Sports Awards ceremony in 1999.

Check out my video interview with Lewis. Just click play!

—Daniel Wetter

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