Who Will Light the Torch in Vancouver?

At every Olympic Games in recent memory the identity of the final bearer of the Olympic torch is always shrouded in secrecy. Each organizing committee attempts to top the torch lighting of the previous games in the climax to a ceremony witnessed by hundreds of millions across the globe. Paavo Nurmi handing off to Hannes Kolehmainen in Helsinki in 1952; the young athlete Yoshinori Sakai, born in Hiroshima on the day of the atomic bombing in 1964; the noble figure of Rafer Johnson in 1984; paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo in Barcelona in 1992; the iconic Muhammad Ali in Atlanta in 1996; Cathy Freeman in 2000; and the entire 1980 U.S. Hockey team in Salt Lake City in 2002.

In two previous Olympics as host, Canada has gone with unknown youths. Teenagers Stephane Prefontaine and Sandra Henderson in Montreal and a 12 year old figure skater Robyn Perry in 1988. Will the Vancouver organizers go with the obvious and familiar or something off the beaten path? Here are some possibilites:

- Wayne Gretzky. "The Great One" is an obvious choice as Canada's greatest and most popular athlete. However, his only participation in the Games was as a member of the disappointing fourth place team at the 1998 Olympics. Gretzky was the manager of the 2002 Canadian hockey team that won the gold medal. Others have added names like Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux to the mix. Lemieux would add a French/English dynamic to the torch lighting and he was the captain of the 2002 team.

- Betty Fox. The 72 year-old mother of Terry Fox who gained international fame in his attempt to run across Canada despite having lost a leg to cancer. Fox's odyssey took place in 1980, but he never crossed the entire country as he fell victim to another bout with cancer that would eventually take his life. Her cause has gained momentum through a group on Facebook.

- Nancy Greene. The 1968 giant slalom gold medalist was also the winner of the first two women's World Cup titles. Greene was hugely popular in Canada in her day and is currently a senator from British Columbia. She was voted as the outstanding Canadian female athlete of the century. Being a political figure may hamper her chances as the organizing committee may want to avoid any appearance of political interest.

- Gaetan Boucher. The speed skater was at one time Canada's most successful Olympian, Boucher won a silver behind Eric Heiden in 1980 and then took two golds and a silver in 1984.

- I am going to go for an unusual choice. In 1998, curling was a medal sport for the first time. Sandra Schmirler had already been the skip on three world championship teams for Canada. The sport that is hugely popular in Canada, Schmirler gained national celebrity by winning the gold medal in Nagano. In 2000, Schmirler died after a year-long battle with cancer. Her funeral was televised live on two different Canadian television stations and the entire country mourned her loss. I could see her daughters Sara, 13, and Jenny, 10, lighting the torch with Schmirler's teammates.