With one week to go before the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Games kick off, the torch relay touched down in Victoria on Saturday morning.
British Columbia's first torchbearer was Capt. Trevor Greene. Four years ago, Greene was serving in Afghanistan when an insurgent leveled an axe through his skull. No one thought he would survive.
But he did. And on Saturday he contributed his own part to the province's Olympic legacy.
"I'm showing that people with disabilities are capable of anything," Greene said.
"The Paralympians inspire me."
VANOC CEO John Furlong was there too, boasting of the thrilling athletic competitions to come.
"Over the coming weeks, people are going to be genuinely in awe of how extraordinary these young men and women are, and the things that they're able to do," he said.
The crowds weren't as big, and security not as tight, but the Canadian spirit was as high as ever along the relay route. Spectators clapped, cheered and sang the Canadian national anthem as the torch passed by.
The torch, which was lit in Ottawa on Wednsesday, will next head to Squamish and Whistler before making it's way back to Vancouver.
A total of 600 Canadians will carry the torch leading into the Paralympic Opening Ceremony next Friday.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Jim Beatty
