An 83-year-old from London is volunteering at his second Olympics in Paris and planning his next trip to the Winter Games in Italy in 2026.
Dave Rush went to the Seine River on Friday to take in the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics. He found a perch by Pont Neuf.
“It was ideal and fantastic,” Rush said. “I was having a ball. It was so much enthusiasm by everybody there that you were just brought up.”
Before Rush packed for Paris, he stopped at city hall and his local MP’s office to grab Canadian and city of London pins that he used to connect with people along the way and show his appreciation.
One of them went to an Italian photographer who took his photo with a group of volunteers, and he said it was unforgettable.
Interacting with people from Brazil and Greece sitting in his section was a highlight of the ceremony, Rush said.
Meeting people is the “best part of the whole day,” he said.
“I’m a people person. I love meeting people. I like interacting with people,” he said. “Everybody was in a really good mood.”
Rush has a long resume of volunteering. His first Olympics appearance was in 2010, at the Vancouver Winter Games, where he drove the German curling team to their venue.
He’s helped out at major curling events since the late ’90s and also at the Ontario Games a few times.
But volunteering at the Summer Olympics was still on his list. In March 2023, Rush spent an hour filling forms and signed up to go to Paris. In November, he was selected to help with men’s and women’s golf.
Rush recommends the experience of volunteering at the Olympics to anyone, especially to his eight grandchildren waiting to hear stories about the Games when he returns home.
“It’s very easy to become a volunteer, and you’ll go places and do things that you would never dream of doing,” he said. “Give it some thought, because you can do this. Anybody can do this.”
Rush is staying in Guyancourt, a town 30 kilometres from Paris, until Aug. 10. His main gig is at the Albatros course at Le Golf National, an 18-hole golf course.
In the meantime, while he waits for tee off, he’s touring Paris and Guyancourt and cheering on Canadian athletes.
“I wish all the Canadian athletes success in their events. I know that this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal for them. They worked hard and I wish them all the success,” he said.