A true winner was in Muskoka last Monday. Olympian Gillian Apps visited Gravenhurst and gave a motivational speech to the Rotary Club at the seniors centre. The speaker’s visit was sponsored by RBC.

Apps is best known for her gold medal win with the Canadian women’s hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. She currently plays for the national hockey team.

The 24-year-old is the granddaughter of hockey hall-of-famer Syl Apps, and the daughter of Syl Jr. who played for the National Hockey League.

Apps was originally supposed to speak at Gravenhurst High School beforehand, but that was cancelled for the second time due to inclement weather.

During her speech, she talked of her most memorable moments, as well as the struggles in her journey to the 2006 Olympics.

“It’s easy to talk about the Olympics because it was amazing,” said Apps.

She explained the years that she and 29 other girls moved to Calgary in hopes of making the Olympic team. “We leave our families, our jobs, school, whatever it takes to go to Calgary,” said Apps. When she was 17, Apps was cut from making the 2002 team.

“It’s scary because you’re putting everything on the line,” she said.

An incredible story of willpower, Apps told how her dreams of the 2006 Winter Olympics were almost destroyed when she injured herself during a hockey game. She was told she may never skate again, but she was determined, and relearned how to skate using a chair.

Her hard work paid off as the following year she made the championship team.

“That was a pivotal moment in my career where I knew that I overcame something that wasn’t really supposed to happen,” said Apps.

Watching the Olympics as a kid, Apps would get emotional seeing Canadian athletes walk around the stadium. She explained how incredible it was to walk in there for the first time herself.

“For me, that’s kind of what drives me, besides my passion for hockey, to push forward to Vancouver and perhaps maybe to 2014 and continue what I’m doing because I love it so much. It’s just such an honour to be able to represent Canada, to be with a group of girls and coaches that are just so driven,” she explained.

Afterwards, a video showcasing the highlights of her team during the 2006 Olympics was played. The highlights included the famous final game against the Americans, that her team won 4-1, earning them their gold medals. The Rotarians were given goosebumps as they watched footage of the girls receiving their medals and standing proud during the Canadian anthem.

“I’ll never forget looking down the line, seeing all of my teammates get their medals. That was more special to me than getting mine because these were girls that I had become so close to and they were like my family,” said Apps.

Rotarians got a taste of Apps’ success as her gold medal was passed around the room. It was truly a memorable way to end the meeting.

Her dream right now is to go to Vancouver, compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics, and make Canada proud.

Go get it, Gillian!