Hockey: Former UBC forward wins world hockey title

One aim here is to highlight stories that are quirky and wouldn't get widely reported.

Former UBC forward Michael Gough leading Australia win the Division II Group B world championship falls under both headings.

Gough grew up in Kingston, Ont., but has dual citizenship since he was born in Australia while his father was there on a teaching exchange. Hey, everyone loves this kind of story. Let's not piggyback on it any more than necessary.

The all-time greatest story about an athlete competing for a country he had only a loose tie was told by the late Dick Schaap (yes, I have blog and have heard of Dick Schaap, take that Buzz Bissinger) about a British decathlete named Clifford "Snowy" Brooks.

In 1972, Brooks wrote to the Olympic bosses in Barbados and said, "My father, whom I never met, I'm told was from Barbados. May I represent Barbados in the Olympics Game." Not only did they say yes, but they let him be their flagbearer in the opening ceremonies.

Years later, Snowy Brooks checked and found out his biological father was actually Canadian.

Related:
Down Under wonder; Kingstonian helps Australia win hockey championship (Patrick Kennedy, Kingston Whig-Standard)
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