Canada's Olympic Heroes Live Forever in Hall of Fame
One month from now, a new class of Olympic Hall of Fame inductees will enter a shrine that exists to honour amazing Olympic accomplishments of the past. In Moncton, N.B. on April 16, the COC will fete five Olympic legends who’ll be front and centre at the annual Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame Gala Dinner & Induction Ceremony.
Figure skater Elvis Stojko, swimmer Curtis Myden, bobsledder David MacEachern, women’s hockey coach Melody Davidson and cycling builder Marc Lemay will earn a coveted place in Canadian sport history. Their stories will be told and then housed forever in the Olympic Hall of Fame.
They will join a tremendous league of athletes, coaches, teams and builders who came before. With the new additions, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame now holds 411 inductees. They comprise the following:
281 Athletes
The Hall’s largest membership belongs to the athletes whose exceptional skills create indelible memories for all Canadians. This number represents athletes who have been inducted as individuals. This group is led by 57 Olympians in the sport of athletics, composed of both track and field events. That is followed by 46 rowers, then by 25 figure skaters and 24 swimmers. Overall, the 281 athletes in the Hall of Fame are spread over 32 sports, whose accomplishments stretch across the past century of Olympic competition.
9 Teams
Nine Hall of Fame inductees have been teams of different shapes and sizes. They are the 1996 men’s gold medal 4×100-metre relay team (anchored by Donovan Bailey), the 1998 gold medal women’s curling squad (with skip Sandra Schmirler), the 1984 gold medal men’s eight rowing crew, the 1998 gold medal men’s short-track speed skating relay team, and five legendary Olympic hockey teams – the 1920 Winnipeg Falcons, 1948 RCAF Flyers, 1952 Edmonton Waterloo Mercurys, and both 2002 men’s and women’s hockey teams.
104 Builders
Builders are those Olympic figures influential in the development of specific sports, or the Canadian Olympic Movement as a whole. They are those who can go unnoticed, as their efforts often come behind the scenes, as the spotlight shines on the athletes. The 104 builders are spread across 27 sports. They are led by 13 builders in the sport athletics, nine in hockey, followed by six in rowing and five in both basketball and wrestling. A full 30 builders are not tied to any particular sport.
10 Coaches
Davidson joins select coaches to be enshrined in the Olympic Hall of Fame, which includes another women’s hockey coach in Danièle Sauvageau. Rounding out the group are Currie Chapman (alpine skiing, inducted in 2005), Donald Dion (diving, 2000), Howard Firby (swimming, 2009), George Gate (swimming, 2002), Deryk Snelling (swimming, 2007), Dr. Jeno Tihanyi (swimming, 2004), Doug Clement (athletics, 2006) and Andy Higgins (athletics, 2001).
7 Athlete/Builders
The final group are those Olympic athletes who went on to become important leaders in Olympic sport. In athletics, there are Richard Pound (1975), Abby Hoffman (1996), Ian Hume (1983) and Bruce Kidd (1966, 1994). Joining them are Carl Schwende (fencer, 1985), Suzanne Francis-Morrow (figure skater, 1988) and George Mara (hockey, 1989).
For the full list, visit: http://media.olympic.ca/files/programs/Members_of_the_Hall_of_Fame_.pdf
