There is a small park in my neighborhood called Linda Thom Park, named after the woman who won a gold medal in the 25-metre pistol event at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. That victory was the first summer Olympic gold won by a Canadian woman in 56 years. The park features a handful of metal seats where visitors can sit and watch the passing parade of pedestrians, cyclists, runners, and dog-walkers. It is a modest space, unburdened by amenities such as teeter totters, water slides, or even a drinking fountain.
However, the park contains a replica of Thom's gold medal, four feet across and anchored by a rough concrete plinth. This monument has been damaged for years, with holes in it as if someone used it for target practice. The irony is unmistakable, and every time I sit there, I wonder what Thom thinks of the neglect her tribute has endured.
Is She Aware?
I discovered that Thom is indeed alive, still lives in Ottawa, and is well aware of the condition of her park. She steps out of her home in Old Ottawa South directly into Linda Thom Park. The irony of a monument to a shooter looking like it has been shot is not lost on her. “It's almost funny,” she says. But it might be, if it weren't also a little sad.
The Park's Features
The park runs along the Rideau River, a narrow tree-lined stretch near Bank Street in Old Ottawa South, meeting Windsor Park to the east and running out of real estate along Warrington Drive to the west. The city did a thoughtful job of honouring her: the replica medal is surrounded by concrete rings on the ground meant to echo a shooting target, and the oval signs identifying the park were also designed to resemble targets.
Time and people, however, have not been kind. The medal appears to have been attacked by a hammer, and the black-and-white target rings have faded into cracked concrete. Thom says that Pierre Paradis, former owner of the C.A. Paradis cookware store on Bank Street, used to keep an eye on the monument, once chasing away vandals intent on removing its plaques. Still, the damage accumulates, leaving the monument something much less than it was meant to be.
A Shared Treasure
Thom often carries her real Olympic medal with her in a cloth bag in her pocket. If a conversation turns to sport, or if someone has simply done something kind, she will take it out and place the medal around their neck. “I like to share it,” she says. “When you stand on the centre podium at the Olympics, you're standing on the top of a pyramid of people who helped you get there. And I feel that way about my park as well. I really feel that people care about it and like to see it well done.”
The park and monument were intended to honour a local champion and inspire others. It is hard to imagine them doing either anymore in their current state. If we are going to honour Ottawans by naming parks and infrastructure after them, surely we have a responsibility to maintain them. Linda Thom and her park deserve a new gold medal.
