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The Gazette; Canadian Sport News and L'agence Diapo Contributed to This Column

Sonia Jean-Philippe first heard about the contest only a week before its June 11 entry deadline, and it took her a few days of careful consideration before she finally put her thoughts on paper.

"Why are the Olympics so special to me?" the adidas Forever Sport Challenge wanted to know. Well, it seems they're very special to Sonia, who found 400 words to describe how they captivate her family, and how the Sydney Games will educate us about friendship, world travel, the discovery of new cultures . . . even kangaroos. The essay by the trilingual Pointe Claire resident made such an impression on the judges that soon she'll be living a dream, joining three other Canadians from Sept. 10 to 17 in Sydney, where they'll put their track-and-field skills to work against other 13- and 14-year-olds from 10 countries.

ALLEN MCINNIS, GAZETTE / Pointe Claire's Sonia Jean-Philippe, 14, will be living a dream when she travels to Sydney.

Sonia will for the first time ever travel beyond North America and report on her competitive and cultural experiences for the excite.ca Web site. That she'll miss a little of her Grade 10 studies at College St. Louis is just an unfortunate consequence, she says with a laugh.

"When I found out I won, I called just about everybody I know," she said. "I'm really, really excited."

The 14-year-old has just begun her sixth year of track, a specialist in the 200 and 400 metres for the Pointe Claire Panthers, a club founded and coached by her father, Marlain. When not training or racing, she plays bantam soccer in her home town.

She and her fellow contest winners - Lauren Champagne of Winnipeg, Jordan Marcoux of Saskatoon and Tyko Tyler of Nepean, Ont. - will compete in the 100 and 800 metres, the 90-metre hurdles, long jump and shot put. Last week, Adidas brought them to Toronto to meet their team captain - 1996 Olympic relay gold medal-winning sprinter Glenroy Gilbert.

"I can't describe the overwhelming feeling of excitement and pride of representing your country," said Gilbert, who autographed a photo Sonia had taken with him a year ago. "These kids are in for the experience of a lifetime."

The young athletes will compete against their peers from Australia, Italy, France, New Zealand, Ireland, Korea, the Netherlands, Trinidad & Tobago and the U.S. For a week, they'll sightsee, file stories to the Internet, mingle with Olympians, and enjoy the electricity of the Games that will be all around them in Sydney. They're hoping they'll see the opening ceremony on Sept. 15, as well.

But there's lots to be done before they board that long flight. For Sonia, there's more training, soccer and another important track meet, the Canadian Legion championships in Calgary Aug. 10 to 17, where she'll race the 400 metres for Quebec and hope to find more speed in her already fleet feet.

You'll learn more about the contest, its winners, and find Sonia's submission at www.excite.ca/adidaschallenge