Canada Olympic House opens with tribute to veteran Toronto Star sportswriter Randy Starkman

Canada's home away from home during the London Games will also honour the memory of a great supporter of Olympic sports.

Canada Olympic House officially opened Thursday night. The facility will be open to the country's Olympic athletes and their families, offering a wide range of services.

The Canadian Olympic Committee also announced that the media room in Canada Olympic House will be named The Randy Starkman Press Room in honour of the Toronto Star sportswriter who died suddenly in April at age 51.

Starkman covered 12 Olympic Games and was regarded as one of Canada's foremost experts on amateur sports. He was respected by both athletes and other members of the media.

"I can not stop thinking about him because he's here with me in my heart," cyclist Clara Hughes said told reporters in London this week.

[Related: "Flat Randy" an Olympics tribute to late reporter Randy Starkman]

"I just can't believe I'm at a Games without him, and I think a lot of people in this room can agree with that. He was . . . the heart and the soul of amateur sport in Canada. Believe me, what I'm doing here is a dedication to his spirit, and the goodness that he saw in all of us athletes."

Canada Olympic House is located at Canada House in London's Trafalgar Square. When it's not hosting Olympic athletes it is the cultural, educational and diplomatic portion of the Canadian High Commission.

The building had been closed since December 2010 to undergo extensive renovations.

Completed in 1927, the building was originally used by the Union Club and the Royal College of Physicians. The Canadian government bought the structure in 1923. It was officially opened in June 1925 by King George V and Queen Mary.

During the Second World War Canada House became a popular hangout for Canadian troops in London. It was the home of the Beaver Club, famous for doughnuts. During the London Blitz a bomb fell about 20 yards from the building. Future prime minister Lester B. Pearson who was the secretary to the high commissioner at the time.

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