In 2004, Louise Russo was in the media spotlight after she was innocently shot when a group of gunmen opened fire on a sandwich shop.
Russo, a mother of three, was hit by a bullet and paralyzed from the waist down.
Over five years later, Russo was in the news on a positive note after carrying the torch in Newmarket on Friday.
“I’m feeling overwhelmed and really humbled by this whole experience,” said Russo. “It’s just an incredible, incredible moment.”
Her husband, Sam Russo, says it was another roadblock his wife has overcome in her lifetime.
“She’s very determined and always looking for a challenge,” he said. “This is obviously another hurdle she’s overcome and I’m very proud of her.”
Another torchbearer Friday was Claire Kowaltchuk, a terminally-ill teacher determined to carry the flame.
Although Kowaltchuk’s health has been in dire straits lately, she was able to carry the flame in to the Magna Community Centre as thousands applauded.
“The last two months I’ve actually had a bit of a tough time, but knowing that this torch run has been coming up, it’s been one of those goals,” said Kowaltchuk, an Aurora teacher battling breast cancer.
“I’m not going to let this torch go by. I’m going to push and I’m going to keep going.”
Her husband, Adam Kowaltschuk, said his wife asked her doctor to do whatever it took so she could carry the torch Friday.
The flame’s journey on Friday began outside the Ontario Legislature at 6 a.m. and ended in Brampton.
Ryan Bennett, 21, carried the torch on his sledge hockey sled – a world first. Bennet was diadnosed with cerebral palsy as a toddler – but that didn’t stop him from being physically active.
Bennett, who’s sledge hockey team won the 2009 Cruisers Cup Tournament, lit the cauldron in Brampton in front of thousands of supporters.
The torch was carried through about 10 communities Friday before winding down the week in Brampton. It passed through Aurora, Newmarket, Keswick, Bradford, Bolton, Kleinburg and Vaughan.
Friday saw several creative torch pass-offs as participants danced, chest-bumped and locked arms along the route.
A journalist from the Toronto Sun was hospitalized with a concussion after he was allegedly pushed to the ground by torch security.
Media covering the torch run were grabbed and hit by bicycles Thursday night as the torch made its way in to Toronto.
