‘This is Mommy’s park’: city honours two-time Olympic champion curler Lawes

When Kaitlyn Lawes drives through her childhood neighbourhood, she’ll now be able to point to a park bearing her name — and tell her daughters that anything is possible.

On Tuesday, the City of Winnipeg officially renamed Lindenwood Drive West Park in honour of the two-time Olympic gold medallist curler.

Lawes won her first Olympic gold medal in 2014 as part of Team Jennifer Jones at the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia and captured a second gold medal in mixed doubles with John Morris at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

She has also won the 2018 World Women’s Curling Championship and the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, earned silver and bronze medals at the World Junior Curling Championships, and represented Manitoba at the Canada Games.

Lawes attended the dedication ceremony with her mother, two daughters, niece and nephew as the city unveiled the new park sign.

“To be able to drive by this sign with my children and share that this is Mommy’s park is very special,” Lawes said.

“I couldn’t imagine that sport could do something like this for me. I feel very, very lucky, and I hope one day I can show my girls that anything is possible. You never know what sport can do for you.”

Lawes grew up in Linden Woods after her parents moved from Ontario 40 years ago. She said the area holds many of her earliest memories, from taking her first steps to learning how to ride a bike and attending school nearby.

Years later, she returned to the community herself, buying her first home in Linden Woods.

“This community means everything to me,” she said. “It is home, and I’m so grateful to be able to share that with my children.”

The effort to name a park after Lawes began in 2018, after her mixed doubles Olympic gold medal win with Morris.

Coun. Brian Mayes, who spearheaded the park renaming effort, said he was contacted by the St. Vital Curling Club, where Lawes curled, following Canada’s semifinal victory.

During CBC coverage after the win, Mayes recalled being asked whether the city would name a street after Lawes — and said he had a different idea: “No, no, I got better. We’re going to name a park.”

Eight years later, the city officially unveiled the sign.

Georgina Sabeski, executive assistant to Coun. John Orlikow of River Heights-Fort Garry ward, said park namings can recognize both an individual’s accomplishments and their connection to a community.

“They can say that people from this city and from this community can do great things,” she said. “You are from here; therefore, you and your children can do great things.”

Representatives from the St. Vital Curling Club and Sport Manitoba also attended the event, highlighting Lawes’ contributions to curling and her role in Manitoba’s sporting community.

Lawes said she hopes her daughters grow up with the opportunity to explore sports, whether or not they follow her into curling.

“My goal for them is just to try and fall in love with playing sports and being active,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what it is.”

zoe.pierce@freepress.ca