Victoria BC Transit driver shows support in a big way for girlfriend competing in Tokyo Olympics

Ever since Celina Toth was 12-years-old, she’s been training in hopes of one day competing as a diver in the Olympic games. 

In 2010, her extreme dedication to her sport brought her from St. Thomas, Ontario to Vancouver Island to continue her pursuit of her dream and train more intensely. 

Now, the Vancouver Island based athlete is competing on the world’s biggest stage, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Although she does not compete until next month, Toth is already in Tokyo to attend the opening ceremonies as well as time to prepare mentally and physically for her event.

Toth’s boyfriend, Stephen Bains, wishes he could be there in person to see his partner living out her dream. 

However, due to the global pandemic, only athletes and Olympic personnel can travel to Tokyo for the games, leaving family members and supporters to remain at home and cheer on their loved ones virtually and in unique ways.

In response, Bains, a BC Transit driver, arranged 5 buses to line up side-by-side at the Langford Transit Centre with their displays proudly reading: 

#TOKYO 2020NE | FLY | HIGH | CELINA | #TOKYO 2020NE

“I’m so excited for Celina, because she has worked so hard to get to this moment,” said Bains, “I can’t be there with her and I wanted to show my pride in a unique way, so I came up with an idea to use buses to send her a special message.”

When sent a photo of what Bains had arranged for her, Toth was amazed and overwhelmed at the gesture. She plans on having the photo printed to hang on her wall in her Olympic Village dorm room to remind her of those supporting her back home. 

The 10m platform event will be taking place on August 4th and 5th in Japan. The event will be viewable in Pacific Time on the evenings of August 3rd and 4th.