Canada's top athletes gather at U of M
Hometown athlete among winners
ROMER BAUTISTA STAFF
PHOTO BY DAVID LIPNOWSKI.
It was an awards ceremony like no other for Winnipeg speed skater and Olympic hero Cindy Klassen.
In front of her many hometown family and friends, Klassen was named the Female Athlete of the Year at the 34th annual Canadian Sport Awards, which was held at the University of Manitoba’s Investors Group Athletic Centre on March 23.
The Canadian Sports Awards are presented by the True Sport Foundation in honour of the nation’s top amateur athletes.
Although fellow nominees cross-country skier Chandra Crawford and moguls skier Jennifer Heil had terrific seasons, there was little doubt as to whom the honour was going to go.
Not much is left to be said about the terrific year that Klassen had in 2006. She set a national record by taking home five medals at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. Of those five, one was a gold medal, which she won in the 1,500-metre event. The five medals gave Klassen a combined six Olympic medals in her career, which is another Canadian record.
Taking home Male Athlete of the Year honours was Duff Gibson. Gibson also is a gold-medallist from Turin. He won the men’s skeleton event, edging out teammate Jeff Pain, who won the silver medal in the event. In winning the gold Gibson, 39, became the oldest Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal.
Team of the Year honours went to the women’s Olympic hockey team and Brad Gushue’s curling rink, which also both won gold medals at the Winter Olympics.
For the women’s hockey team, their performance in Turin was nothing short of dominant. The team coasted to its second consecutive Olympic gold medal, outscoring their opponents 46-2.
The Newfoundland-based curling rink’s performance, on the other hand, was anything but dominating. The foursome, consisting of lead Jamie Korab, second Russ Howard, third Mark Nichols, and skip Gushue, dropped three of its round-robin games. However, the team came together when it counted, defeating the United States 11-5 in the semi-finals, and Finland 10-4 in the gold-medal match.
Another speed-skating Winnipegger was honoured when Clara Hughes was awarded the Spirit of Sports Story of the Year award. Hughes, who won a gold medal in Turin in the 5,000-metre, donated $10,000 of her own money to Right to Play, an organization that uses sports as a developmental tool for children and youth in disadvantaged areas across the world. After making her donation, Hughes challenged her fellow athletes to do the same, and to date, has raised over $430,000 for the cause.
Junior male and female athlete of the year awards went to Stefan Guay, a national alpine ski team member, and Kirsten Sweetland, a triathlete.
Partners of the Year honours went to the bobsleigh duo of Pierre Leuders and Lascelles Brown.
Other award winners on the night included: Beckie Scott (athlete leadership), Walter Sieber (volunteer), Victory Lachance (leadership in sport), and Neal Marshall (coach).
Winners of each award were chosen by an independent jury, made up of members selected by a selection advisory committee and the True Sport Foundation.
This was the first time that the awards were hosted outside of Ontario. Approximately 300 people were in attendance.
