20 years on, Dave (Eli) MacEachern remembers delivering gold for P.E.I.

It was his third and last Olympics, and Dave (Eli) MacEachern was destined to deliver a first for Prince Edward Island.

On Feb. 15, 1998, MacEachern won an Olympic gold medal in two-man bobsleigh for Canada, and the very first Olympic gold for P.E.I.

MacEachern had competed in bobsleigh in 1992, narrowly missing a bronze in the four-man event, and in 1994. After not reaching the podium twice, MacEachern remembers entering the 1998 games with renewed focus.

"That day was extremely special for me just because we did what we were supposed to do," he said Wednesday on Island Morning.

"One of the hardest things you can do in anything is deliver when you have to deliver."

Since that day MacEachern figures he has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people about the experience, including about 200,000 school children. Thousands have touched or held it. But while this week is special, the Olympics are not a part of his daily life any more.

His Olympic medal is kept in a safety deposit box.

"There's not a lot of day-to-day talk about it," he said.

"Day-to-day, it's literally in the vault."

The medal is out this week, however, and MacEachern's family has organized a party to celebrate the 20th anniversary.

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