Canadian London 2012 press room named after Randy Starkman

Randy Starkman passed away suddenly in April, but his legacy at the Olympic Games will continue to live on, as it was announced today that the press room at Canada’s Olympic House in Trafalgar Square would be named in his honour.

Starkman, who covered 12 Olympic Games in his time as a sports reporter, was known as the authority on amateur sport in Canada. He blew the convention that journalists should not have relationships with their sources out of the water — in the wake of his death, athletes mourned along with his family and the journalism community at large.

As Janice Neil, J-Source’s editor-in-chief — and friend of Starkman — wrote in an editorial in the wake of his passing, journalists face a tall task in covering these Olympics without Starkman. “With 100 days until the London Olympics begin, I see athletes and journalists asking who has the passion, the genuine interest and commitment to lift these stories from simple results and hastily-gathered bios,” Neil wrote.

“I think the challenge for all of us journalists is to ask ourselves every day, where would Randy find the humanity in this story and how can I follow?”