Three Ottawa athletes usually run track but are now sprinting around town trying to find something to wear.
They’ve scored a chance to mingle with the Royal couple at a youth barbecue at Rideau Hall Thursday.
“I just found out the news today and I was extremely excited. It was a huge surprise,” said Cody Boast, 20.
Boast, a University of Ottawa student, said he watched Prince William and Kate tie the knot on TV last April but the chance to see them up close is a little daunting.
“The first thing I thought was, “oh I have no idea what to wear, how to address, like, royalty,” he said.
Boast is joined by runners Noella Klawitter and Jason Dunkerley, both 33, and visually impaired.
Boast is a guide for Klawitter and the trio is training for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London next summer.
“Having Will and Kate as the younger face of the royals gives them a little bit more relevance to a lot of us,” said Dunkerley.
“They’re young and sporty.”
Dunkerley works for the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with disabilities, and has won three medals at the Paralympics in the 1500m.
Meanwhile, Klawitter is working on her master’s degree in Human Kinetics at uOttawa.
She has just returned from Calgary where she won the 400m and the 800m at a national championship.
“I’ll be wearing a dress of some sort,” said Klawitter, while shopping at St. Laurent Centre.
http://www.ottawasun.com/2011/06/29/paralympians-going-to-royal-barbecue
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