The City of Richmond will honour local Olympian Evan Dunfee on Saturday as part of the Richmond World Festival celebrations in Minoru Park.
A special salute to Dunfee will take place at 6 p.m. on the World Festival main stage. Following the brief ceremony, Dunfee will be available for an autograph-signing session at the Olympic Experience tent on the festival grounds until around 7 p.m.
Dunfee, a Richmond resident and competitive race walker, won international acclaim in the recent Rio 2016 Olympic Summer Games. After competing in the 50-kilometre race walk, Dunfee finished fourth, while setting a new Canadian record for the event, both notable achievements.
However, it was his post-race actions that brought him international attention.
Dunfee was in contention for a medal throughout most of the race.
With a few minutes to go, he was bumped by another competitor as they were vying for third place in the race. The bump disrupted Dunfee’s stride and he came in fourth.
The race referee awarded Dunfee the bronze medal spot, before a subsequent appeal by the Japanese walker led to the Richmondite dropping back to fourth again.
Dunfee then declined an opportunity to appeal at a higher level, saying he wouldn’t have felt comfortable taking the medal.
Dunfee’s display of sportsmanship versus winning a medal drew worldwide acclaim and he was praised as one of the true “heroes” of the Rio Games, providing inspiration to youth and others across the globe.
The Richmond World Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday in Minoru Park. Admission is free. Events details are online at RichmondWorldFestival.com.
