Sports

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Sports Personalities         
ArcheryBadmintonBody BulidingBowling
BoxingCurlingCyclingDiving
EquestrianFigure SkatingGolfHockey
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Rhythmic GymnasticsRingetteRowingShooting
Skiing - Alpine & Cross CountrySpeed SkatingSwimmingTaekwondo
TennisTrack & FieldWeightliftingWalking
Water SkiingWrestling
Archery     back
Lisa Bertoncini

She has been on target with her sport of archery since she competed for her school, Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ontario, winning gold medals at the provincial level in both the individual and team competitions in 1977 and 1978. She was Female Athlete of the year twice and won the outstanding Dr. Mitminger Award from Mohawk College in 1978. She is also a member of The Mohawk College Sports Hall of Fame. At the Ontario Association of Archers she won four womens ladies Ontario Championship titles in 1977, 1983, 1984 and 1985. She competed at the national level for nine years and won the women’s Canadian Championship title in 1984 and 1985. Representing Canada at the World field Championships Lisa took the Women’s World Champion title in both 1984 and the World Games title in 1985. She was named to the Canadian Amateur Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. She has done some coaching at the national level of the sport since leaving the competative field..

Lucille Lessard. Born 1957. Introduced to the sport of archery by her schoolteachers she became a devoted competitor. She won her first national championship in 1974 and successfully defended her title five times. In 1974 she became the first Canadian to wing the World Field Archery Championship, she was the youngest world Champion up to this point in time.
Dorothy Lidstone.  Born August 16, 1938. She enjoyed learning her sport of archery. She excelled and became the first Canadian World Champion in Archery in 1969. Her winning score broke the previous record set in 1963 by 100 points. Dorothy has retired from competitive archery but was an active support in setting up the family archery business that included designing, developing, and manufacturing Canadian made archery equipment.
Badminton      back
Milaine Clouthier.  Born February 16,1972.  Her brother brought her to a badminton game when she was 9. She was told that girls couldn't beat guys.  That did it! She was hooked! She outplayed them all! By 1995 she had won a bronze medal in the Pan American Games, and in 1997 she won Pan Am gold in the doubles event.
Robbyn Hermitage Born Montreal, Quebec April 22, 1970. A badminton player of talent, Robbyn has 10 national badminton championship titles to her credit. She has twice represented Canada on teams at both the Commonwealth Games and the Pan American Games. She was also a part of team Canada at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Currently she lives in London , Ontario where she is caring for her family of two toddlers. Watch for her in the future on the courts though, for she intends to get re-involved once again in the sport that has given her so much!.
Denyse Julien. Born June 22, 1960.  Her passion is badminton. She has been enthusiastic about her sport since she was 12 years old.  She represented Canada on the Olympic team in 1992 and 1996.  She was National singles Champion in 1993, Badminton's Athlete of the year in 1995 when she won 3 gold medals in the Pan American games.  She has held several Canadian National title over the years but feels her biggest accomplishment is still being enthusiastic about her sport. 
Marjory Shedd. Born March 17, 1926. Marjory won her first Canadian Badminton Championship in 1953. In total she has won 6 national singles titles, 5 mixed and 14 ladies doubles titles. She also excels in volleyball and basketball. She flexed her coaching skills when she was coach to the University of Toronto volleyball team. 
Dorothy Louise Walton. (née McKenzie) Born Swift Current, Saskatchewan  August 7, 1909. Died October 17, 1981.  Prior to 1932 she was a top ranked tennis player in Canada. After 1932 she switched to Badminton and became one of Canada’s best. After conquering the provincial and national titles in Canada she captured the All-England title that is equivalent to the world amateur championship. In 1950 she was voted one of the top 6 women athletes in Canada in the Canadian Press Poll. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. In the 1950's she was a well known member of the Consumers Association of Canada.
Jane Marie Youngberg Born Alysbury, England. December 25, 1948.She studied for her Bachelor of Education at the University of British Columbia and followed her heart to become a teacher. As a teen she loved badminton and at 15, with her partner Sue Latournier won the 1965 Doubles title. In 1967-8 she and Barbara Nash won the Canadian Ladies Junior Doubles championship.  And she and Barb Welsh took Canadian Ladies open and closed doubles championships in 1974 & 1975. On the international scene there were wins at the Canadian Uber Cup, Jakarta Indonesia 1972, 1975 and won at the Commonwealth Games , the all-England singles in 1977.  She continues to love teaching. She and her husband Ed spent three months in 2005 in Africa with the African Canadian Continuing Education Society ( acceskenya.org) training staff to better education of children of Kenya.
Baseball  
Mary "Bonnie" Baker

née Mary Geraldine George. Born 1919 (?) died December 2003. As a youth she enjoyed sports. In the Second World War with many of the American Professional Baseball players serving at the front lines, Wrigley of the famous chewing Gum company came up with the idea of having a girls league in baseball to fill the stadiums with fans. “Bonnie” was soon scouted for the All American Girls Baseball League. A popular player with the press she appeared on the TV Show What’s My Line and was photographed for Life magazine. The press dubbed her “Pretty Bonnie Baker”. In 1950 she was with the Kalamazoo Lassies as the first player/manager  in the League. In 1951 she took off the season to give birth to her daughter, Maureen. She returned to the sport in 1952 but soon retired to spend more time with her family. The League itself folded in 1954. She returned home to Regina and continued to play softball and helped take the local team to the 1953 Ladies World Softball Championships in Toronto. She became involved in the Wheat City Curling Club where she would become club manager. In 1964-1965 she became the first female sports caster on CKRM Radio in Regina. Mourners at her funeral celebrated her life and career by singing “Take me out to the ball game.”! Suggested sources: Baker, Mary “Bonnie” City of Regina: 2008. www.Regina.ca (Accessed September 2008) ; All American Girls Baseball League online.

Basketball  
Ruth Wilson Born  Calgary, Alberta.  April 27, 1919. Died   2001. Her family moved to British Columbia where the youth was encouraged by her mother to play tennis. Winning the provincial doubles, mixed doubles and Pacific Northwest Doubles championships did not however keep her interest in the sport. She attended the University of British Columbia and went on to earn her Masters in education at Western Washington State College. She enjoyed varsity basketball and went on to play on 5 national championship basketball teams in the 1940”s. As a coach in the sport she founded the Eilers and the team won the 1950-51 senior “A” title. In 1967 she was the coach of the Pan Am Games Team that won Canada’s first medal, a bronze. In 1973 her Buzz Bomb team were also national title holders. In total her basketball coaching career spanned 35 years. She also enjoyed softball and played in two women’s world  series. As a golfer she played on eight Interprovincial teams and won the Canadian title four times as well as playing internationally. She has been inducted into the UBC and the British Columbia Sports halls of Fame. She is considered British Columbia’s greatest all round female athelete.
Body Building      back
Sherry Ann Boudreau Born Victoria British Columbia March 25. Growing up in Richmond, British Columbia she enjoyed being both a Brownie and a Girl Guide. Sherry Ann completed her studies in cosmetology and is also certified in aerobics and weight training. After the birth of her second child she decided to become competitive in fitness events. She has worked her way to first place in international events. In 2004 she was competing successfully in body building events at the international levels!!!  She is in the process of writing a book called : Start Today, Tomorrow Never Comes. She hopes it will inspire all who will read it. Sherry Ann loves a challenge and feels it is so much fun staying health, find and positive. If you search for her name on the internet you will find her personal web page.
Bowling     back
Cathy Townsend. Born June 8, 1937. In 1975 she was the first Canadian woman to win the Bowling Cup. During her trip to these world games her equipment and clothing were lost in transit and she had to obtain a new bowling ball and special shoes required for a left handed bowler! She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Boxing    back
Jessica Rakoczy Born Hamilton Ontario April 14, 1977. In high school she was active in many competitive sports including hockey, baseball, soccer, track and swimming and was twice elected athlete of the year. At 20 she too up amateur boxing and went on to take the Ontario provincial bantamweight title. Her tryouts for the Canadian national team seemed prone to misfortune as a serious accident and broken bones kept her from the team. She made her professional debut on October 21, 2000 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.A. By spring 2005 she has had 20 professional fights with a 19-1 win record and holds the world lightweight championship.
Curling      back
Marilyn C. Bodough. Born March 9, 1955. A business woman who managers her own lumber yard and has owned several businesses including a funeral home and flower business. She is a well known motivational speaker. In her spare time she found time to be a member of the 1996 Canadian and World Championship Curling teams. She has also co-authored a book on the sport of curling. She is a member of the St Catherines Ontario Hall of Fame. 
Jennifer Jones

Born Winnipeg, Manitoba July 7, 1974. As a youth she enjoyed the sport of curling. She continued in her sport while obtaining a degree as a lawyer and working as a Corporate lawyer. In 1991 she won the provincial Games Silver medal. By 1994 she was the Canadian Junior Champion. In 2002 she won the Manitoba Women’s Provincial Championships and went on to win the Canadian National Tournament of Hearts in 2002 and 2005.  In 2006 she won the inaugural World Curling Tour Players Championship. She was also busy in 2008 winning the Tournament of Hearst and once again the World Championship as skip of her team. A sports master athelete to watch!!!  To keep up to date check out the Jennifer Jones team website.

Sandra Schmirler Born Biggar, Saskatchewan June 11, 1963.  Died March 2, 2000. Curling was her passion. She was a three time Canadian and World Champion.  The Schmirler team worked as a real sisterhood and dominated their sport for 6 years. In 1998 Schmirler  led her foursome, Joan McCuster, Jan Betker, Marcia Gudereit and Atina Ford  to the first ever Olympic gold medal in women's curling. She and her team are members of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and she is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Cycling      back
Tanya Dubincoff Born Winnipeg, Manitoba November 7, 1969. At four years of age she took the training wheels from her bicycle. She has won the Canadian National track cycling championship 16 times! She has won four gold medals at the Pan Am Games and has represented Canada in 3 Olympics. She was personally disappointed in her effort placement in Sydney's Olympics but she knew that retirement from competition was her future. In 1993 she was the first Canadian woman to win a cycling world championship and in that same year was first in World Cup standings. Tanya has since opened her own café, the Sugar Gallery Café and she has taken a position with The Olympic Oval in Calgary. She uses her communications skills and acts as a bridge between athletes and the media. What she gets most satisfaction from, however, is training young cyclists.
   
Clara Hughes. Born September 27, 1972. Clara is a dynamo on wheels. This cyclist holds 13 Canadian National titles. She as silver and bronze medals from the 1991 and 1995 Pan American Games; a silver medal from the 1994 Commonwealth Games; a silver medal from the 1995 World Championships. In the 1996 Olympics  she won 2 bronze medals which were Canada's first cycling medals in 100 years!
Linda Jackson. Born Winnipeg, Manitoba November 13, 1961. She enjoyed music as a child and studied music and theatre at the Banff School of Fine Art and after making her opera debut in 1982 transferred to the schools opera program. She launched her career at the San Francisco Opera, made her European debut in 1987and appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in 1991. She has made several recordings.
Genevieve Jeanson Born Lachine, Quebec August 29, 1981. She began an interest in cycling in 1993. In 199 she became the first Canadian to win the Junior World Championship time trial and then won the road race itself. She has over 14 top titles to her credit. In her mid twenties she has the courage and determination to continue appearing in the winners circle in the future.
Lori-Ann Munenzer Born Toronto, Ontario May 21, 1966. Although at 5’10” she is the shortest in her family it was never a drawback. It seems she was always on her bicycle. In 1987 she began Road Racing at the Toronto Cycling Club. In 1994 she embraced Veledrome Racing and became a member of the National Cycling Team. She has accumulated 13 National titles and 11 World Cup medals during her career. She has also earned medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 & 2002. She made her debut at the Olympics in 200. At the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 she became the first Canadian to win a gold medal in Cycling. Selected as the Canada’s Female Athelete of the year in 2004 she was also the 2005 winner of the Lois E. Hole Lifetime Achievement Award from the YWCA. After the 2004 Games she began her own business called Pure Momentum which seeks to find and promote a community of female speakers. She has published her own biography and a documentary both called One Gear, No Breaks. Nomination and Information submitted by Wayne Mackenzie.
Diving      back
Sylvie Bernier Born Quebec City, Quebec January 31, 1964. Sylvie was the first Canadian to win a medal in Olympic Diving.  She won the gold in the 3-meter springboard diving in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Beverly Boys. Born July 4, 1951. For 10 years (1966-77) this diver won 34 Canadian championships in springboard and platform competition.  She holds gold medals from Commonwealth Games and was a member of three Canadian Olympic teams.  She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Anne-Josée Dionne. Born October 26, 1975. A member of the Canadian National Diving Team, Anne-Josée has been 9 times National Champion (in various age groups). She has also won medals at international events.  In 1993 she earned 3 gold medals at the Canada Games.  In her spare time she enjoys photography, movies, and camping. 
Irene Margaret MacDonald. Born November 22, 1933. Brought up in an orphanage in Hamilton, Ontario she reigned as Canada’s champion diver from 1951-1961. She won medals at the 1954 and 1958 Commonwealth Games and in 1956 she won Canada’s first Olympic diving medal, a bronze. She became a dedicated administrative supporter to the Canadian Diving fraternity. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, 1981, received the Order of British Columbia in 1991, was Female Athlete of the Year 1958, and won the YWCA Woman of Distinction for sport in 1998. The Irene MacDonald Fund was established for the support of children in diving.
Anne Montminy Born January 28, 1975.  A member of the national Canadian Diving Team, Anne has won 19 international medals to date.  She won the gold medal in the Junior World Championships and she is the Canadian record holder in Women's Platform Diving. 
Peggy Seller Born January 22, 1904. This Montreal athlete began her interest in sport by competing in track and hold provincial titles in javelin, broad jump and running relays. She also excelled in swimming and diving, holding the national record for the  3 meter diving championship. Perhaps her legacy is better shown in her writings of the rules  of synchronized swimming. 
Equestrian       back
Gail Greenough. Born Edmonton, Alberta July 13, 1960. She took up equestrian sports at age 11. She joined the Canadian Equestrian Team in 1983 and in 1986 became the first Canadian and first woman to win the world show jumping championships. She is a member of the Order of Canada.
Beth Underhill. Born Guelph, Ontario September5, 1962. In 1991 this equestrian jumper won a double sliver medal at the Pan American Game. She also rode for the Canadian team which won an Olympic Silver Medal at Barcelona, Spain. In 1993 she was the first woman to win the Canadian World League. Her favourite jumping horse partner was named Monopoly, with who she won over one million in prize money!!
Figure Skating      back
Patricia Kim Alletson

Born Brockville, Ontario January 30 1953. She loved to skate from when she was little. She joined the Minto Skating Club in Ottawa and after hours of hard practice she became a goad medalist in her club and in Eastern Ontario Championships. She skated on the national and international scene with the peal of her career being in the 1970’s when she was Canadian Champion in 1975 and 1976. She was a member of the Canadian Olympic Team in 1976  and she won the Skate Canada International Championships that same year. Suggested sources: Ferguson, Bob Who’s Who in Canadian Sport (Scarborough; Prentice Hall, 1977

Sandra Bezic Born Toronto, Ontario April 6, 1956. She and her brother Val loved to skate. So much so that they became involved in Canadian pairs skating. They were coached by renewed coach Ellen Burka. In 1967 they won the Canadian novice title. In 1969 they joined Canada’s international skate tem a position they showed they deserved when from 197- through 1974 they won the Canadian Seniors pairs titles. They represented Canada in the 1972 Olympics and placed a respectable 9th place. In 1973 they won the Zagreb international Skate for pairs. Then just prior to the 1976 Olympics a torn ankle ligament kept Sandra at home watching the Games. She and Val turned pro as one of the World’s pair skaters and skated in every major city in the world including Paris, New York, Paris, Moscow and Tokyo. Sandra continued her interest in skating by becoming a skate choreographer to such Canadian and international skaters as Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi and Kurt Browning. She also was choreographer for the travelling show Stars On Ice. Also over the years she has also enjoyed benign a specialist sports commentator at international events for NBC, ( a major U.S.A. Broadcasting company). She has written of her experiences in a book : Passion to Skate.
Isabelle Brasseur. Born July 28, 1970. Isabelle and her partner Lloyd Eisler are one of Canada’s finest pairs figure skating teams. . They hold 5 Canadian Championships, 5 World Championship medals, and 2 Olympic Bronze medals. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Ellen Burka.  Born August 11, 1921. A coach of renown she has seen her efforts crowned at 26 Canadian Olympic and World Championships when her pupils have received medals.  Her own daughter Petra Burka was one of her winners. Both family members are members of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Petra Burka. Born Amsterdam, The Netherlands November 17, 1946. At the age of 15 she became the first Canadian to complete the triple salchow jump in competition. .1965 she won the Canadian, North American and world championships and was the Canadian athlete of the year.
Josée Chouinard. Born August 21, 1969.  She was 3 times Canadian figure skating champion.  She turned professional n 1994 and won the Canadian Professional Championships that same year and again in 1997.  She is an ambassador for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.  She married Jean-Michel Bombardier in 1997.
Frances Dafoe. Born December 17, 1929 This 1948 Canadian Junior ladies figure skating champion became paired with Norris Bowden the 1947 men’s singles champion to compete in the 1952 Olympics. By 1954 they were the first Canadians to be World Pairs Champions. At the 1955 Olympics they won the silver medal. Frances retired to a successful fashion deign career specializing in figure skating costumes and continues to be an international skating judge.  She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Maria Jelinek. Born November 17, 1942.  In 1950 the brother and sister pair of Otto and Maria Jelinek decided to figure skate seriously. In 1962 they won the World’s Pairs figure skating title. In 1955   they won the Canadian Pairs title and came second at the senior level in 1956-57-58 and 1960. In 1961 and 62 they were Canadian Champions and were silver medalists at the worlds.
Karen Diane Magnussen. Born North Vancouver, British Columbia April 4,1952. A accomplished free-skating performer, Karen was Canadian champion in 1968. She withdrew from 1969 world championships because of stress fractures in both legs but returned to become Canadian champion 1970-1973 and world champion in 1973.  The doll that was made and sold as the Karen Magnussen doll did not have any of the characteristics of the determined young athlete.
Elizabeth Manley. Born Belleville, Ontario August 7, 1965.  Canada's top female skater in 1987 and 1988  she would win the hearts of her home country at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary with a silver medal. Her home is Gloucester (Ottawa) Ontario where they have named an arena  after her. She continues to skate professionally and packs the arenas wherever she goes in Canada. She is known  as the tiny skater with the big heart. (Check out the paper dolls in the Famous Canadian Women pages).
Jennifer Lee Robinson. Born Goderich, Ontario December 2, 1976. Figure skating is her first love. Her heroine was skater Elizabeth Manly. She won the Canadian Junior Championship in 1994. In 1996 she won her first Canadian Senior Championship title. She has been Canadian ladies figure skating champion 6 times. Check out her official web site: http://skatinginc.com/Skaters/Robinson/
Barbara Anne Scott. Born Ottawa, Ontario May 9, 1928. One of Canada’s best remembered, Barbara won the gold medal in figure skating in the Olympic Games of 1948 on an outdoor rink in St Moritz, Switzerland.  The Barbara Anne Scott doll that came out shortly after the games did not really look too much like the young skater but it is today a very highly prized collectors item.
Sandra Tewksbury

Born Chatham, Ontario 1942 (?) Died June 1962. At nine years of age she joined the Chatham Figure Skating Club and was recognized as a talent. At 11, she was the youngest skater to win the Canadian Figure Skating Silver Dance Medal. In 1959 she was very busy, placing third in the Canadian Figure Skating Championships and 5th in the North American Championships and then being first in the trial for the Olympic Games. She placed 10th overall in the women’s figure skate at the Squaw Valley Olympics. Shortly after she was married, Sandra Tewksbury Ritchie died in an automobile accident when she was 20 years old.

Barbara Ann Underhill. Born Pembroke, Ontario June 24, 1963. With her skating partner, Paul Martini she would win five consecutive Canadian Pairs Championships. In 1984 they won the World Championships on home ice in Ottawa. They turned professional and worked with Ice Capades after their amateur successes. They are both members of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Barbara Aileen Wagner. Born Toronto, Ontario May 5, 1938.  She and Robert Wagner formed one of Canada’s most successful figure skating pairs.  They began skating in 1952 and in 1957 won the Canadian, American and World Championships. So spectacular was their gold medal routine at the 1960 Olympics that 7 judges ranked them first place.  This was the first time that the gold had gone to non-European pair skaters.  They are both members of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Golf      back
Jocelyn Bourassa

Born Shawinigan Quebec. May 30, 1947. Jocelyne embraced sports all through her childhood. She attended the University of Montreal and then the University of Wisconsin in the U.S.A. She enjoyed an active sports life at both universities staring in basketball, volleyball, skiing, and track and field. During her years at Wisconsin she earned the nickname “Frenchy”. Her interest in golf actually stared in the early1960’s when she was a caddy for her brother Gilles. She earned the Quebec provincial junior championships in 1963-1965 and she was hooked for life on competative golf. She would win provincial amateur championships, the Canadian ladies amateur championships in 1965, and 1971. She was a member of the Canadian team winning the World Cup in Spain in 1971 and then on to win the New Zealand amateur title. In 1972 she turned pro and earned the honour of “Rookie of the Year” in the Ladies Pro Golf Association. She was the first woman to be names as the Quebec Athelete of the Year and in 1972 was the Canadian Female Athelete of the year. From 1980 though 200 she was the executive director of the du Maurier Ltd. Classic which is one of the LPGA’s four major championships. She holds the Royal Order of Merit of Canada and in 1996 she was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. Sources: Who’s who in Canadian Sport by Bob Ferguson, (Scarborough: Prentice Hall ) : Royal Canadian Golf Association. Canadian Golf Hall of Fame www.rcga.org/hall_of_fame (accessed February 2009)

Florence Harvey Born Hamilton, Ontario 1878. Died 1968. She excelled in her sport of Golf as a competitor and gave back to it her energies to help the sport evolve for women in Canada. She was Ontario Ladies Amateur Champion 1904, 1906, 1913, and 1914. She was also Canadian Ladies Champion in 1903 and 1904 and placed as runner up in both 1911 and 1913. She was a great advocate of her sport. She founded and served on the executive of the Canadian Ladies Golf Union, now known as the Canadian Ladies Golf Association. During World War I she organized women golfers to raise money to purchase an ambulance to be used in Serbia. She is a member of Canada's Golf Hall of Fame.
Dorothy Campbell Hurd Howe

Born Troon , Scotland 1883. Died 1946. She embraced the sport of golfing in her home country. Prior to emigrating to Canada in 1910 she held numerous titles in both Scotland and Britain. In 1910 she was the first person to win three national titles: The Canadian, The U.S.A., and the British amateur championships. She went on to win the 1911 and 1912 Canadian Ladies Amateur Championships. She married in 1912 and moved to the U.S.A. where she took the Ladies Amateur title again in 1924. She is considered on of the most successful lady golfers of the first quarter of the the 2oth century. She was induced into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1991 and is also a member of the world Gold Hall of Fame. Source: Royal Canadian Golf Association http://www/rcga.org.hall_of_famer (accessed February 2009)

Angela Kelly

Born Scotland October 3, 1971. Her hometown was Brantford, Ontario where she finished high school at North Park Collegiate before attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A. She was an assistant coach for the women’s soccer team while she studied. She graduated in 1994. From 1989 through 1996 she was a member of the Canadian women’s national soccer team. Re-establishing herself at the University of Tennessee in January 2000 she became a popular and winning coach of the university’s VOLS ladies Soccer team. She was inducted into the Brantford and Area Sports Hall of Recognition and the  Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004.  Sources: The Brantford Public Library, Famous local Sportsmen http://www.brantford.library.on.ca/genealogy/famoussports (accessed October 2008) : University of Tennessee Women’s Soccer Official website utladyvols.com (Accessed October 2008)

Ada Mackenzie Born Toronto, Ontario October 31, 1891. Died October 25, 1973.  She would win the Ontario Ladies Amateur Golf title 9 times and the Canadian Ladies Open Amateur  title 5 times.  In 1933 she was declared the Canadian Athlete of the Year.  She would open a ladies only golf club in Thornhill, Ontario in May 1925.  This sporting pioneer with her club and her leading titles would make ladies golf a sport to be taken seriously.
Sandra Post. Born Oakville, Ontario June 4, 1948. She became Canada’s first woman professional golfer in 1968 and won the Ladies Professional Golf Association Championship at Sutton Massachusetts that same year. In 1979 she was Canada’s Athlete of the Year. In 2004 Sandra became a Member of the Order of Canada.
Judy Sams. Born Toronto, Ontario October 7, 1947. Canadian amateur-of-the-year in 1980 this Ontario Athlete is best known on the golf course.  
Cathy Sherk Born Bancroft. Ontario June 17,1950. She loved her chosen sport of golf. In 1977 Cathy  claimed her first Canadian Women’s golf title. In 1978 she was the U.S. Amateur and Medalist at the World Amateur. Golf Digest named he the World’s no. 1 Woman Amateur. She also received the Velma Springstead Trophy for outstanding Canadian Athelete of the year. She joined the Ladies Profession Golfing Association Tour and was a key player for many years. After retiring from the LPGA in 1983 she worked closely with the Canadian Ladies Golf Association junior program. She still had time to reign as  the 1986, 1987 and 1990 CPGA Champion.  From 1995 through 1999 she was the National Coach of the CLGA. In 1995 she was inducted into the Royal Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.  Source: Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. (Online accessed February 2002.
Marlene Streit. (née Stewart) Born Cereal, Alberta March 9, 1934. A powerful golfer she would win the Canadian ladies champion title 11 times between 1951 and 1973. She was the Canadian Female Athlete of the Year in 1951 and 1956. In 1967 she was inducted as an officer in the Order of Canada. During her golfing career she would win 24 Canadian Ladies Golf Association Championships and by 2003 she had a career total of 30 national or international championships with at least one championship each decade . She claimed her third U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in 2003, the oldest person to ever triumph in that event. She is the only person to have won the Australian, British, Canadian and United States womens’ amateur championships!  She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and in 2004 she became the first Canadian member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Gymnastics
Ernestine Russell Weaver née Russell. Born Windsor, Ontario, June 10, 1938.

At 16 she won the Velma Springstead Award as Canada’s Outstanding Woman Athlete of the Year for 1953. She would win again in 1954 and 1955. At 18 she was the first Canadian woman to participate in gymnastics in the 1956 Games in Melborne, Australia. In 1959 when gymnastics were introduced to the Pan American Games she dominated the field by winning four gold and two silver medals. She also held nine Canadian Championship titles. After retiring from competition she turned to coaching gymnastics at the college level in Pennsylvania and Florida. She has also written several books on her beloved sport and been coach to the US world gymnastic team. In 1981 she was inducted into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame.  

Hockey      back
Lori Dupuis

Born Cornwall, Ontario November 14, 1972. Lori always enjoyed playing hockey and played Minor hockey in Cornwall She attended the University of Toronto and earned an honours BA in French and geography. While studying she played hockey for the University of Toronto Blues 1991-1997 and was U of T’s Female Athlete of the Year 1996 and 1997. Considered one of the best women hockey players in the world she joined Team Canada in the mid 1990’s. She has played with the team as it won three world championships in 1997, 1999 and 2000. She played on two Olympic teams for Canada , the sliver medal team in 1998 and the gold medal team of 2000. She runs a hockey school with teammate Jayna Hefford in Brantford, Ontario. She was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in both Cornwall and Brantford.

Manon Rhéaume.  Born Lac Beauport, Quebec February 24, 1972.  The daughter of a hockey coach, she began to play at the age of 5 years. She loved hockey and played well. She was the first girl to play in the Annual Quebec Peewee Hockey Tournament.  She went on to become the first woman to play professionally. She was goalie with the Tampa Bay Lightening of the National Hockey League. If you want the whole story read Manon: alone in front of the net.  She is still active in her sport today teaching young girls how to play the sport she loves. Her web site is located at;  http://manonrheaume.com
France St Louis. Born October 17, 1958.  A member of the Canadian Women’s Hockey team since 1990, she was a member of the silver medal team at the 1998 Olympic games in Nagano, Japan.
Haley Wickenheiser.  Born Shaunavon, Saskatchewan December 8, 1978. Team sports are her favourite. She played in competition in the World Junior Softball Championships in 1995. Then it was hockey. She played with a gold medal team at the 1997-99 World hockey Championships and the silver medal team at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. She was invited to play with the Philadelphia Flyers training camp which she found a great opportunity to learn at the NHL level. She has done studies science and the University of Calgary and was the first woman to have accepted a contract to play hockey on a men's team. She played her sport of hockey in Finland.
Judo    back
Michelle Buckingham Born Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. September 1, 1968. She loves her sport of Judo. She has been Canadian Champion 7 times and competed with team Canada in three Olympics. The fact that Olympic medals have eluded her have not dampened her competitive spirit. She has been in the tope medals , including gold, in both the Pan American Games and the Pan American Championships since 1997. She has been first in the US Open competition in 2001 and 2002. She shares her love, dedication and knowledge of her sport with up and coming competitors in and elementary after school programme when she is at home.
Kayak and canoe       back
Caroline Brunet. Born March 20, 1969. In March 1998, Caroline became the recipient of the Velma Springstead Award to become Canada's Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year. Her recognition began in 1995 when she won a gold and 2 silver medals at the World Championships. In Atlanta's Olympic Games in 1997 she claimed the silver medal. She swept the World Sprint Canoe Championships in 1997 when she won three gold medals which represented "a best ever" Canadian Kayak team performance.  She gold medal also represented a first for a Canadian woman in a singles event. She also won a medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Mountain Biking    back
Alison Sydor Born Edmonton, Alberta. 1966. A graduate of the University of Victoria, she has also found time for her love of sport, especially riding her mountain bike. She is considered one of Canada's most accomplished women mountain biker and a tough competitive athlete. She has dominated her sport both at the national and international level with gold medals in World championships in 1994, 1995 and 2002. She places second at the world level championships in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003. In 1996 she won silver at the Olympics as was the Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year and World Cyclist of the year from the Velo News. In 1998 she ran the last part of a race with her broken bicycle on her back to cross the finish line! Today she works for her sport through a kids ride program in North Vancouver.
Mountaineering      back
Phyllis Munday. (née Jarnes) Born 1894. Died 1990. This woman has a mountain named for herself and her husband Don. Mount Munday is the highest peak in the Waddington Range of the Canadian Rockies. A competent climber she and Annette Buck in 1924 became the first women to reach the summit of Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. While she would enjoy climbing more than 100 peaks in the Rockies she was more than a mountaineer. She was a scientist, cartographer, naturalist, humanitarian and adventurer. In 1973 she received the Order of Canada for her pioneering efforts in these fields and for her dedicated service to the Girl Guides, St. Johns Ambulance and the Alpine Club of Canada. In 1992, Canada Post issued a stamp with Phyllis Munday on it as part of its Legendary Canadians series.
Henrietta "Hettie" Tuzo Wilson née Tuzo. Born Victoria, British Columbia May 6, 1873. Died January 11, 1955. She was the first Canadian born woman mountaineer. A founding member of the Alpine Club of Canada she had a real passion for climbing. In 1906 she was the first woman to ascend Peak seven of the Valley of the Ten Peaks near Moraine Lake and bordering  the provinces of  British Columbia and Alberta. . in 1907 Peak Seven was renamed Mount Tuzo  in her honour. She stopped climbing in 1907 when she was 34 years old. She moved to Ottawa with her husband to raise their family. In 1928 she was elected president of the National Council of Women, still climbing the mountains set up in front of women by society. John Tuzo Wilson, her son became a well known Canadian geologist in the area of continental drift and plat tectonics.
Sharon Adele Wood. Born Halifax, Nova Scotia May 18, 1957. One might say mountaineering is in her blood. In the spring of 1986 she became the first woman from the Western hemisphere to stand on top of the world on Mt. Everest. She was 17 years old!!! On a smaller scale she was part of an all woman team to navigate to the top of Mt. Logan. She enjoys teacher her sport to others when she is not working as a helicopter ski guide.
Rhythmic Gymnastics    back
Lori Fung Born Vancouver, British Columbia February 21, 1963. She has a passion for her Rhythmic Gymnastics. She started at the British Columbia Rythmicka Club. She was an able student and a good listener. These talents paid off when in 1983 she became Canadian Champion and later that same year the Four Continents Gold medalist . She would during her competative career be Grand Champion of Canada seven times. To the media she was a relative unknown contender, yet she won gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics when the sport was inaugurated into the Olympic Games. Retired from competition, she remains a valued coach in her sport. She also works for Canadian charities in such positions as Chairperson of the Canadian Cancer Society. She is a recipient of the Order of Canada and a member of Canada's Sport Hall of Fame.
Ringette     back
Agnes Jacks Died April 1, 2005. In 1963 her husband introduced the sport of Ringette in a school in North Bay, Ontario. After his death in 1975, Agnes poured her heart an soul into the sport. She became a true 'mother of the sport'. She promoted the sport, often travelling across the country to tournaments. She took great pride in the sport and the participants as she handed out the top medals. She also became an overseas ambassador for the sport. She was recognized with the Order of Canada and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for her contributions to women's sport.
Rowing     back
Silken Laumann. Born November 14, 1954. At the age of 19 she had won a bonze medal in the double rowing event at the Los Angeles Olympics. She would be in the hearts of  many Canadians,  when she suffered a severe leg injury in a rowing accident while practicing for the 1992 Olympics.  With little time remaining until her event, she trained with a special brace on her leg and, with the perseverance of a real winner,  she went on to win the bronze medal in singles rowing in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics! She was Canada's Female athlete of the year in 1991 and 1992 and she was also declared Canada's Outstanding Athlete in 1991. She retired shortly after winning a silver medal in the 1996 Olympics.  She works as a promotional speaker to help people overcome obstacles in their lives. She is also a devoted mother. 
Theresa Anne Luke.  Born February 20, 1967. She has completed her studies at the University of Victoria where she holds a B.Sc. She is a full-time coach and athlete who is looking into a possible sports-related career. As a member of the Canadian Olympic Rowing Team she won a silver medal in the 1996 Atlantic City Olympic Games. 
Marnie McBean Toronto, Ontario January 28, 1968 Although at 5'10" tall she was not considered tall enough for competitive rowing there is no measure of the ingrained competitive spirit. As a teen, Marnie became interested in rowing. She has bee 4 times an Olympic medalist including double gold medal. She is the first rower to win a medal in every rowing event…Olympic, world championships while competing in 6 different boats! She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. She is as passionate about her charity work as she is about her sport and works hard to help such foundations as the Kids Help Phone and the Special Olympics.
Anna Van Der Kamp. Born Abbotsford, British Columbia June 20, 1972.  This young athlete competed for Canada in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in rowing where she earned a silver medal. She gained prominence in her sport in 1993 when she was Female Crew of the Year. 
Emma Robinson. Born November 26, 1971. This athlete is a member of the Canadian Olympic Rowing team. In the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, she won a silver medal. She had worked her way to the Olympics with participation and recognition in international regattas, U.S. Championships, World University Games and World Championships. While participating in her beloved sport she also was a Canada Scholar 1990-1994 and the winner of the Petro Canada Olympic Torch Scholarship 1995. She won a bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She pulls her weight with her medical studies and her sport!
Shooting      back
Susan Nattrass. Born Medicine Hat, Alberta November 5, 1950. She was taught to shoot by her father when she was 17 and by 19 she defeated 1300 men at an international shoot in Nevada! In the 1976 Olympics in Montreal she was the only woman entered in the trap shooting event. In the 1990 Commonwealth Games she became the first woman to be entered in a shotgun event. She has set 4 world records and has been World Champion on 7 occasions. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Linda Thom.  Born Hamilton, Ontario December 30, 1943. She is a strong and highly motivated Olympic medalist. She first became interested in shooting as a child, when she learned the basics of the sport from her shooting enthusiast father. She successfully entered pistol competitions in 1969. By the mid 1970's she concentrated on her career as a chef and on family life. She took up the challenge of shooting again when it was announced that women would compete in this event in the Olympic Games.  Her pistol individual gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles games was the first for a Canadian women and the first gold medal for a Canadian woman since 1928. Linda felt that the Gold Medal belonged to all the people of Canada, and she carried it with here wherever she went so that people could see and touch the medal for themselves. Linda is the first pistol shooter included into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Amateur Sports Hall of Fame. In 1985 she received the Order of Canada.
Skiing Alpine and Cross Country       back
Myriam Bedard.  Born December 22, 1969.  While with cadets she took up biathlon and entered her first competition on rented skis. In 1991 she was the first Canadian to win a World Cup in Biathlon. She won a bronze medal in the Olympic games in 1992 when women's biathlon was a demonstration sport  The next year it was a  a gold at the World Championship. She went n to win gold for the 7.5 km inaugural event, and a gold in the 15 km event at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.  She was the first non-European to win gold in Biathlon.  She received the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s outstanding athlete in 1994. She is a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
Betsey Clifford. Born Old Chelsea, Quebec October 15, 1953. Betsey began skiing at Camp Fortune at age 5.  At 12 she was Canadian Junior Champion. She became the youngest ever world ski champion in 1970.  How old was she?
Laurie Graham. Born March 30, 1960. Ski racing since the age of 9, Laurie Graham made the national Ski team in 1978. The 1985-86 season was her most successful.  She recorded two World Cup Downhill victories along with 2 second and 3 third place finishes.  The winner of a total of 6 World Cup races Graham retired after an eleven-year career.
Nancy Greene. Born Ottawa, Ontario May 11, 1943. A skier of determination, Nancy won the 1967 World Cup and dominated the racing scene the next year as well winning a gold medal in the giant slalom and a silver medal in the slalom at the Olympic games as well as her second World Cup.  She was awarded the Order of Canada in 1967 and named Athlete of the year in 1968.  She is a member of the Canadian Sports hall of Fame.
Anne Heggtveit Born Ottawa, Ontario January 11,1939. A member of a skiing family, Anne, came to international attention at the age of 15 when she won the 1954 Holmenkollen Giant Slalom event in Norway, the youngest winner in the events’ 50 year history.  At the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics she won an Olympic Gold Medal for Canada. In that same year she won the giant slalom and combined women’s alpine titles the 1st time ever by a non European.
Sue Holloway . Born May 19, 1955. Sue was a four time Olympian competing in 1976 in Cross Country Skiing and Kayak, 1980 and Kayak again in 1984 where she took Silver and Bronze medals. Although Canada withdrew from the Moscow Olympics in 1980 she was the appointed Olympic flag bearer. She was the first Canadian woman to ever compete in both winter and summer Olympic Games in the same year. She and her husband, former Olympian Greg Joy, now work together as motivational speakers.
Claudia Kerckhoff-van Wijk She proved herself a worthy competitor in a male dominated sport. She held the Canadian Women’s Whitewater Kayaking Championship position for an entire decade from 1974-1984. She was the first woman and the youngest competitor to participate in the grueling ten sections of the Coureurs des bois gold category in the Canadian Ski Marathon.  She now owns and operates Madawaska Kanu Centre which is the first kayak and canoe school in North America.
Kathy Kreiner. Born Timmons, Ontario May 4, 1957. In 1974 she won the gold medal in the Skiing World Cup giant slalom and two years later at her second Olympics she captured the gold medal in the giant slalom event.  In 1976 she was named Canada’s outstanding female athlete of the year and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Lucie Laroche. Born October 23, 1968. Her youthful  love of skiing led her to become a member of a group of freestyle skiers known as the "Quebec Air Force".
Kerrin Lee-Gartner. Born Rossland, British Columbia September 21, 1966. She grew up in Rossland B.C. and became a member of the elite group of skiers to hold an Olympic Gold medal. This medal was the first in history for a Canadian (male or female) on the downhill event in an Olympic games.
Karen Percy. Born October 10, 1966.  At the 1988 Calgary Olympic Games she became the first skier in 20 years to win two Olympic medals in the same games. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Lisa Savigarvi.  Born December 29, 1963.  She first learned to ski at 14 months! She was a national competitor at 14 years. In 1985 she was overall alpine Canadian Champion.  She was forced out of competition in 1987-88 season after shattering her knee and injuring her back while in World Cup training. 
Beckie Scott  Born Vegreville, Alberta August 1, 1974. She began cross country skiing at the age of five and her passion for competition was stirred when she won her first competition at age 7. Scott is a two-time Olympian. She participated at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Scott won a gold medal in cross-country skiing at the Salt Lake City games. She originally finished third in the five-kilometer pursuit, but she was soon upgraded to the gold medal when winner and runner-up were disqualified for using darbepoetin, a performance-enhancing drug. She became the first Canadian and first North American woman to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. Her Olympic gold medal was presented to her in a ceremony in Calgary, Alberta and She was extremely proud to be the first Canadian winter sport athlete to receive a gold medal at home in Canada. In addition to her superb athletic accomplishments, Scott is equally well known for her outspoken stand on anti-doping and drug-free competition. She relentlessly challenged the International Ski Federation (ISF) to be more aggressive in its efforts to catch cheats. She never dreamed she would be a direct benefactor of those efforts. On March 29, 2005 Scott agreed to join the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athlete committee. Aware of the world outside of sport, she spearheaded a Canadian team challenge to donate all prize money won from the Continental Cup competition in British Columbia to the UNICEF efforts in Afghanistan. The Beckie Scott Nordic Centre at Panorama Mountain Village in Invermere, British Columbia, has been named in her honour. She is a member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.
Mélanie Turgeon.  Born Alma, Quebec October 21,1976. As a baby her father carried her in a back pack when he skied down the slopes! As a junior in 1994 she won 5 medals! This Quebec skier has raced Slalom, Downhill, and Super G for the Canadian Ski Team since 1992.    In 1998 she was the top Canadian skier in the World Cup. In 2001 she became the first Canadian to win two Two World Cup medals in one day! She place # 1 at the World Championship down hill races.
Lucille Wheeler Born Montreal, Quebec January 14,  1935. Lucille first skied when she was two years old! At 12 she was the national junior ski champion and named to the Canadian National Ski Team at 14!. In 1956 she won bronze at the Cortina Olympic Games and became the first ever Canadian Olympic ski Medalist. In 1958 she won both the downhill and giant slalom event at the World Championships. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Soccer  
Carrie Serwetnyk

Born Hamilton, Ontario. July 17, 1965. When her family moved to Mississauga, Ontario she played soccer for the Peel-Halton Soccer Association. Eventually her promising skills in the sport earner her a scholarship to the University of North Carolina in the USA. In 1985 she was the leading scorer and was voted the team’s offensive MVP of the year. She played in the NCAA women’s finals on winning teams in 1985 and 1985. Back home in Ontario for the summers she also played in the Canadiana Nation Championships / She played 19 times for Canada’s full national team. She played in competition in Taipei and in Cuangzhou China in the late 1980’s. Between 1988 and 1990 she played in France where the team reached the national final. In the spring of 1992 she signed to a Japanese Club and played in the 10 team Japanese Women’s League where she was the leader in number of goals in the league. In 1993 she came back from a knee injury and helped her team win their championships and the national tournament . In 2001 she was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. Source: thesoccerhalloffame.ca Accessed March 2007.

Speed skating       back
Lela Alene Brooks Born Toronto, Ontario February 7, 1908. An incredible speed skater she had broken 6 world records by the time she was 17 years old.  After 14 years of competing and winning every title to be won she retired in 1935 declining to compete in the 1936 Olympics. She is Canada's first woman to be a world champion. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Christine Boudrias. Born September 3, 1972. A member of the Canadian National Speed Skating Team since 1990/91, Christine is a 3 time Olympian with silver and bronze medals to her credit.
Sylvie Burka Born Winnipeg, Manitoba June 4, 1954. A top speed skater and cyclist she burst onto the Canadian sports scene first as a cyclist taking the 1970 Coors International Bike classic. She switched to speed skating and she took the 1973 world junior speed skating title. Set over 40 Canadian records and won 5 national speed skating titles. She won the world senior championship in 1976 and the sprint championship the next year. In cycling whe won three gold medals at the western Canada Games
Sylvie Daigle.  Born Sherbrooke, Quebec February 29, 1962.  She began speed skating when she was 8 years old.. She would go on in her sport to win an Olympic gold medal at the Calgary games 1988 in the 1500m event and sliver medals in the 1000m and 3000m events. In the  Albertville Olympic Games it was gold again, this time as part of the short track relay event. The Lillehammer Olympics would be a silver medal again in the relay.  She is also a student in medicine at l'Université de Montréal.
Catriona LeMay Doan.  Born December 23,  1970.  This young skater from the Canadian prairies is a member of the national long track speed skating team.  She won 2 medals in the Olympics in Nagano, Japan.  In 1997-8 she was the fastest woman on ice!  She lost only one 500m race all year! She is actively involved in public speaking where she is challenging and motivating people to achieve their full potential. In the 2002 Olympic Winter Games she became the first Canadian individual to successfully defend a gold medal at any games.
Cindy Klassen Born Winnipeg, Manitoba August 12, 1976. It seems Cindy has always loved and been involved in sports. In 1994 she was a member of the field Lacrosse team in a demonstration sport at the Commonwealth Games. In 1996 she was a member of Canada's National Junior Women's Hokey team. Her real love however is speed skating which she began when she was 18. In 2002 she was second in the world allround championships. February 10, 2002 she won the Canada's first medal of the 2002 Olympic Games, a bronze, in the 3000m event.  In 2003 she clinched the number one spot as World Allround Speed Skating Champion. in 2005, suffering from a bad cold she was second in this world event.
Annie Perreault. Born July 29, 1971.  Annie, who hails from Windsor, Quebec, has been a member of the National Short Track Speed Skating Team for more than 12 years. She is one of Canada's most decorated female Olympians with credits of one bronze medal and two gold medals. She also coaches some of her family members who have also become recognized skaters. She enjoys her sport and wants to maintain her performance level and to have fun while doing it. 
Catherine Priestner-Allinger

née Priestner Born Windsor, Ontario May 27, 1956. She joined the national speed skating team in 1971 and that same year she won gold and silver medals at the Canada Winter Games. She was a member of the 1972 winter Olympic team but it was not until she spent more time in international competitions winning podiums that she would stand on the Olympic podium. In 1976, at the Innsbruck Olympic Games she became the first Canadian woman to win an individual medal with a silver in the 500 metre event. In 1975 she was Calgary’s Athlete of the year and in 1976 she was inducted into the Alberta Hall of Fame and received the Governor General’s Award of Excellence. In 1981 she was inducted into the Canadian Speed Skating Hall of fame. After retiring from competition she established a successful career as an Olympic television commentator with the CBC and CTV. She worked as an organizer for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and with the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

Jean Wilson. Born Glasgow, Scotland July 19, 1910. Died September 3, 1933. In 1931 she was the North American indoor speed skating champion.  At the 1932 Olympics when women’s speed skating was a demonstration sport, Jean won the 500m race in 58 seconds and came second in the 1500 m event.  At only 23 years of age she died from a progressive muscular disease. She was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1955.
Swimming     back
Gail Amundrud

Born Toronto, Ontario April 6, 1957. She began competative swimming at the Ottawa Kingfish Club in 1967. She moved to Vancouver and continued her training with the Dolphin Swimming Club. All the training paid off. She was the first Canadian girl to swim 100meter free style under one minute at the 1973 World Championships. In 1974 at the Commonwealth Games she took two gold, silver and a bronze medal. She continued to swim breaking Canadian records and placing on the podiums in the 1976 Olympics ( Bronze in the 4X100 FS relay), and the Pan Am Games.  Suggest sources: Ferguson, Bob Who’s Who in Canadian Sport (Scarborough; Prentice Hall, 1977  pg. 5.

Sara Barber

Born January 25, 1941 Brantford, Ontario. As a teen she was a member of the Canadian International Swim teams from 1954 through 1962.In 1956 she was one of the youngest team members at the Melbourne Australia Olympic Games.  In 1959 she held the world record for the 100 meter back stroke. And won a silver medal at the Pan Am Games. In 1958 and 1969 she represented Canada at the British Empire Games and won silver and bronze medals. She is married to Donald Jenkins and they have three children. In 1964 she attended McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario for her BA and went on to earn her BNE. She is a member of the group of Olympians who were honoured in 2002 on the Brantford walk of Fame. Suggested source: Who’s who in Canadian Sport by Bob Ferguson.

Marilyn Bell. Born Toronto, Ontario October 19, 1937. t was September in 1954 when a 16-year-old Toronto Girl entered the Canadian National Exhibition sponsored marathon swim race across Lake Ontario. She was the only entrant to actually finish the 32-mile race. It took 21 hours! She was the first to successfully swim Lake Ontario. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. She attended university and married and lives in the United States where she was teacher for 20 years . A back injury forced Mrs Di Lascio to give up swimming a few years ago. She enjoys coming home to Canada for visits as often as she can.
Ethel Viola Bieber

née Gilbert. Born Winnipeg, Manitoba May 6, 1920. Died October 22, 1988. She enjoyed swimming in at ten began a competative career. At 15 she held the Nation Junior title for her freestyle events and was a member of 5 championship relay teams. All through the 1930’s and into the early 1940’s she would continue to hold provincial and national records in various events. She was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.

Michelle Cameron. Born December 28, 1962. From 1981 for the next 7 years she would be on the synchronized swimming team that would win 6 of 8 national championships. She was a member of the team that demonstrated the new sport to the International Olympic Committee to have the Games accept the sport. She was on the gold medal team in the 1988 Olympics. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Karen Clark. Born April 9, 1972. She is a member of our Canadian Olympic Synchronized Swim Team. She earned a sliver medal at the Atlanta Olympic Gamed in 1996. She holds several Canadian titles and has won medals at the Pan American Games and the World Cup. She is also continuing her studies at the University of Calgary.
Leslie Cliff. Born 1March 11, 955.  One of Canada’s finest swimmers she won 27 gold, 19 sliver and 10 bronze international medals, including world and Olympic silver . She set Commonwealth Games records in 1974 in both the 200 and 400 meter events.
Phyllis Dewar. Born 1916. In 1934 & 1935 she held every single Canadian freestyle swimming record from 100 yards to one mile! She set records and won a gold medal at the British Empire Games and returned to the games in 1938 for another gold medal triumph.  She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Sylvie Fortier. Born July 31, 1953. Between 1973 and 1976 Sylvie won 24 national level individual and team synchronized swimming gold medal! She also holds 7 medals from the 1975 & 1976 Pan American and Pan Pacific Games and won the world championship title in 1976. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Sylvie Frechette Born Montreal, Quebec June 27, 1967.Swimming has always been her passion. She was Female Athlete of the Year in Aquatic Sports in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. She earned this distinction by winning Olympic medals, in Atlanta in 1996 a Silver, Olympic Gold in Barcelona in 1992, German Open Champion 1992, Japan Open Champion 1992, World Aquatic Champion 1991 where she was not only first but also set a world record. The list continues with medals won at the Fina World Cup 1991,and the the 1990 Commonwealth Games. In 1992 the Canadian Sports Federation created the Sylvie Frechette Award in her honour. Today she follows her sport closely while working as a professional in communications and marketing in the Montreal area.
Nancy Ellen Garapick.  Born Halifax, Nova Scotia September 24, 1961. A swimmer who did well in butterfly, free style and individual medley events she had the most success in the backstroke event.  She set the world record in 1975 and in the same year was named Canada’s female athlete of the year.  She was just 14 years old! In the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal she won two bronze medals.
Allison Higson Born Mississauga March 13, 1973. In 1985 this your breastroke swimmer set 11 records at a single swim meet! That same year she became the youngest medalist in the world when she won a bronze medal for the 200 m breastroke event. In 1986 the Canadian Amateur Swimming Association awarded her top Female Athlete of the year.
Marianne Limpert Born Matagme, Quebec October 10, 1972. This swimmer has won 20 national titles and 81 international medals including Olympic silver. Marianne considers medal just symbols of her journey through life. She has been Swim Canada's top female athlete of the year in 1996, 1997 and 2000. At a qualifying event in 2000 she gave her place on the Olympic event to the young swimmer who placed 1/100 of a second behind her! A Maple Leaf tatoo just above her right ankle lets people know she is Canadian. Out of the pool she is a spokeswoman for the New Brunswick Arthritis Association and she has travelled with the "Future is Female" program that encourages girls to pursue their dreams.
Vicki Keith Munro. Born Winnipeg, Manitoba February 26, 1961. A superb marathon swimmer, she would use the butterfly stroke to swim into the record books both nationally and internationally and all for the benefit of charity. In 1985 she swam her first world-record crossing of Lake Ontario. In 1988 she became the first person to swim cross all five Great Lakes. She also conquered the harbour in Sydney, Australia, the English Channel between Europe and England, and Juan de Fuca Strait on the North American west coast and Lake Winnipeg in the geographical heart of Canada. He sponsorships would earn hundreds of thousands of dollars most of which went to Variety Village to benefit disabled children. She was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 1992, earned the Variety Club Heart Award in 1989, B’Nai Brith Woman of the Year for 1989 and the Vanier Award in 1989 and was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame. Although she officially retired in 1991 from long distance swimming, she hit the waters of the lakes again in 2005 to raise awareness and funds for children with disabilities.
Cynthia Cindy Nicholas. Born Toronto, Ontario August 20,1957.  At 16 years old Cindy bettered the record for swimming Lake Ontario. In 1975 she swam the English Channel in record-breaking time. In 1977 she became the first woman to complete a double crossing of the English Channel  She would go on to swim the Channel 18 more times including 5 two-way trips! Her honorary title was Queen of the Channel.  She received the Order of Canada in 1979. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Ontario Sport Legends Hall of Fame in 2003.
Anne Ottenbrite. Born May 12, 1966.  She was the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming. She won the medal in 1984 in the 200m-breastroke event. At the same games she won sliver in the 100m breaststroke and played a key role in the 400m-medley relay team that won bronze.  She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Mary Stewart-McIlwaine

née Stewart. Born Vancouver, British Columbia December 8, 1945. Swimming was enjoyed by both Mary and her sister Helen. In 1956 when the Dolphin Swim Club was established in Vancouver what would be more natural for the sisters but to join in the swim of things. Freestyle swimming was Mary’s choice and the butterfly was her strength. At the 1959 Pan Am Games she won a sliver medal in the 4 X 100 freestyle relay. Her sister Helen was also a member of this team.  August 12, 1961 she broke the world record in women’s 100 m butterfly and would hold a second world record from July 28 1962 through to August 16, 1963. Before she was 17 she would claim every Canadian freestyle and Butterfly Record in all distances up to 220 yards showing that she deserved the 1961 Women’s Athelete of the Year Award. She followed this up with a gold medal (100 yd butterfly), 2 silver medals and a bronze medal in the British Empire/Commonwealth Games and 4 silver medals in the 1963 Pan Am Games. She was also a member of the Canadian Olympic Swim team in Tokyo, 1964. Mary was inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. Mary retired from teaching with the Vancouver School Board in 2006. Source: British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed June 2008)

Elizabeth "Betty" Edwards Tancock Born February 22, 1911. Died Toronto May 28, 2009. Her avocation was swimming. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1933 and was inducted in the University Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. She was a silver medal winner in the 1930 British Empire Games. In 1932 she competed in the Los Angeles Summer games. She was part of the 4X100 freestyle relay that took fourth place.  She also competed in the 1934 British Empire Games. She would also set Canadian records for the 1,000 yards and one mile events.  She also served as President of the University of Toronto Women’s Swim Club. After her Olympic career she worked as an administrator at York University of Toronto.  In 2005, she was introduced to the Ontario Chapter of Olympians as Canada's oldest living Olympian. Source: Toronto Star.
Elaine Tanner- Watt  Born Vancouver, British Columbia February 22, 1951.  She became known as  “Mighty Mouse”. Small in stature but mighty in the swimming pool is considered Canada’s best female swimmer. At 15 years of age she was Canada’s outstanding athlete of the year.  She holds 4 gold medals from Commonwealth Games 1966, plus  three silvers. She was the first Canadian Woman to ever win 4 gold. In 1967 she won two gold and three silver medals in Winnipeg at the Pan-American Games and broke two world records. At the Olympic games in 1968 in Mexico she provided Canada with two individual silver medals and one relay bronze medal. .At just 18 she retired from competition.    In 1969 she received the Order of Canada and in 1971 she was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Suggested source: The Canadian Encyclopedia. - online.  More specific and updated information provided by Thomas Brandenberg.
Helen Vanderburg Born Calgary, Alberta  January 12,1959.  A synchronized swimmer who won the 1973 Canadian Junior Championship. By 1977 she placed first  at the Pan Pacific Games and swept the Canadian championships with 6 gold medals.  In 1978 she became  the first Canadian to win the world championship with gold medals in the  solo and duet events.  In 1979 she defeated 90 competitors to win the solo title at the world aquatic championships.  She was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.
Carolyn Waldo. Born Montreal, Quebec December 11, 1964. After nearly drowning at the age of 3 years she took 7 years to overcome her fear of the water. In the 1984 Olympics she captured a silver medal in synchronized swimming! At the World Aquatic Championships she and partner Michelle Cameron won gold and Carolyn also took gold in the solo event.  In the 1988 Olympics she won gold in solo and again with Michelle won gold in duet.  She became the first Canadian woman to win 2 gold medals at one Olympics. She currently perusing a career in sports broadcasting.
Rhoda Isabella Wurtele-Eves Born Montreal, Quebec January 21, 1922.. As a young girl she and her twin sister Rhona enjoyed competative swimming winning both provincial and national swimming titles in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle events. With her twin sister Rhoda,  she won the Canadian Female Athlete of the year in 1944
She loved competative skiing and while her promising sports career was interrupted by World War ll she earned placement in the winners circle in North American events prior to being  a member of the 1948 and 1952 Canadian Olympic ski teams.
Rhona Wurtele-Gillis Born Montreal, Quebec January 21, 1922. She attended both, Sir George Williams University, Montreal, and the University of Oregon for her education. As a youth she excelled in competative swimming winning both Quebec provincial and Canadian National swimming titles in the 50 and 100yard freestyle events. With her twin sister Rhoda,  she won the Canadian Female Athlete of the year in 1944. BY 1950 she was earning US National titles in skiing in slalom, downhill and giant slalom events. She was a member of the 1948 Canadian ski team for the Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. By 1973 she was showing her abilities as a member of the Quebec Ladies Interprovincial golf team. In 1982 she was inducted into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame.
Taekwondo     back
Roxanne Forget A 5-Dan Black belt in taekwondo, Roxanne won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in 1990. In 2001 she was considered the underdog in the competition but came through to win the gold medal at the World Cup held in Vietnam.
Tennis     back
Ethel Mary Babbit

née Hatt. Born Fredericton, New Brunswick July 13, 1876. Died August 20, 1969. A well rounded athelete Ethel enjoyed and excelled playing in hockey, golf and Tennis. She appeared in both amateur and professional leagues. She was an accomplished tennis player from 1908 through 1927 . She earned titles in Ladies singles and mixed doubles and took national honours in 1910. As a mother of three children she turned to hockey in winter and enjoyed Golf in the Maritime summers. She was the provincial champion and top scorer for the Charlestown Abbies hockey tem in 1937-38 and played with the Hibbing Monarchs the next year. In 1946 she was with the Maritime Intermediates of the Charlestown Legion hockey Team.  She played in Moncton in 1947 and 1948. She was an 8 time member of the PEI Willington Cup golf team between 1939 and 1962. She was ten times in the Canada Amateur Golf Championships and 29 times in the Canadian Professional Golf Association as well as from 1969 through 1976 she was seven times Maritime Champion. She is a welcome member of the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame. Suggested sources: New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame on line.

Carling Kathrin Bassett-Seguso. Born Toronto, Ontario October 9, 1967.  This young tennis player burst onto the Canadian sports scene in 1981 when she won the Canadian indoor junior title.  In 1982 she was ranked the number 1 junior in the world. She turned professional in 1983 and played in such international events as the French and Australian Opens and at Wimbledon.  She retired from competition in 1988. 
Marjorie Blackwood

Born Ottawa, Ontario May 1, 1957. She seemed to have always loved tennis. From 1972-1980 she was a member of the Canadian Fed Cup Team. All in all she would capture 14 titles in singles and double play. She was three time Canadian Champion and was ranked by the World Tennis Association 50 top players. From 1977-1979 she was the top ranked player in Canada. In 1983 she was ranked # 48 in the world. She has been able to follow her sport into a professional career and is the Director of Tennis at Whistler , British Columbia Racquet Club. Suggested sources: Who’s Who in Canadian Sports by Bob Ferguson and the Whistler B.C. Racquet Club online.

Susan Butt

Born Vancouver, British Columbia March 19, 1938. She studied for her B.A. and her Masters at the University of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. She also received her PhD and earned the respectful title of Doctor. She married Dr. W.D. Liam Fin and the couple have two children. Her joi de vive was enhanced by her avocation for the sport of tennis. In 1960-61 and again in 1967 she was ranked #1 in Canadian singles.  In 1971-72 she returned time to her sport as the non playing Captain for the Canadian Federation Cup team. In all she was the winner of more than 60 Canadian singles and doubles titles. She was a gold medalist in doubles in the 1st Canada Games. She also enjoyed serving her sport and was Vice President of the Canadian Lawn Tennis Association in 1971-71. Combining her love of her professional life and her sport she wrote a book: The Psychology of Sport. Suggested source: Who’s Who in Canadian Sport by Bob Ferguson.

Patricia Hy-Boulais. Born Phnom Penh, Kampuchea August 22, 1965.  This tennis player began her career in Honk Kong before moving to Canada. Canadian Champion from 1992 through 1999. She has also represented Canada at two Olympic games.
Helen Mersi Kelesi. Born Victoria, British Columbia November 15, 1969. This tennis player had a form that was so flamboyant on the courts that she was known as "Hurricane Helen". She was chosen as Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1990.  She began to suffer from headaches and blackouts and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She survived several operations and returned to her sport as a coach with Tennis Canada.  She is also a "Colour News Commentator" for many major tennis events. She is also a motivational speaker for the Brain Tumor Foundation of Canada.
Track and field      back
Natasha Cecily Bacchus Born Toronto, Ontario 1977. Being hearing impaired has never deterred the efforts of this internationally successful track athlete. She began running when she was 10, continued training and attended her first World Summer Games for the Deaf in Bulgaria in 1993. She came home with a gold medal and a sliver medal in the 100 metre and 200 metre event. Since her debut she has competed in Denmark, Germany and other countries. Her accomplishments of some 50 gold medals and trophies have been recognized by such awards as the Jo-Anne Robenson Award for Female Athlete of the Year in 1997, the Harry Jerome Award for Athlete of the Year in 1995 and the Outstanding Achievement in Athletics from the Guyanese Heritage and Cultural Association. Currently studying at university on scholarships she hopes to work with children and be a voice for the needs of other hearing impaired youth in our communities.
Marjorie Evelena Bailey

Born Lockeport, Nova Scotia November 21, 1947. A Practical Nurse by profession, her avocation was track and field especially track sprinting. She competed internationally for Canada. In 1975 she won a bronze medal for the 100 meter in the Pan Am Games. She now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia and enjoys life with her son, Anthony. Suggested source: Who’s who in Canadian Sports by Bob Ferguson.

Debbie Brill. Born Mission, British Columbia 1953. A track and field athlete originated the reverse jumping style called the "Brill Bend" in high jumping. She was the first North American woman to clear the 6-foot/1.83 meter barrier. She won several medals in international events. She is a Member of the Order of Canada.
Ethel Catherwood. Born Hannah, North Dakota, U.S.A.  April 28, 1908. Died September 26, 1987.The family moved to Canada in 1910.  Ethel was on the 1928 Canadian Olympic team, the first Olympic games to allow women to compete. She won a gold medal for Canada in the high jump when she cleared 5feet 2 inches (1.588m). She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Updated October 12, 2008. Updated information was supplied by K. V. Booth., a relative of Ethel.
Myrtle Cook ( married name McGowan) Born Toronto, Ontario January 5, 1902. Died 1985. While she excelled in track, Myrtle was an excellent all around athlete. In the 1928 Olympics (the first Olympic Games to allow women to compete) she was the anchor leg of the gold medal winning 400 m relay.  She also held national and British Empire Games medals. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Charmaine Crooks Born Jamaica. She emigrated to Canada when she was 6 years old. At 16 she took her favourite sport of running seriously and made the 1980 Olympic team. She would go on in her sport to win medals at the Olympics, Commonwealth and Pan American Games as well as the World Cup. She was time Canadian National Champion in the 400 and 800 metre event and was the first Canadian to break the to minute barrier for the 800 m distance. In 1996 she was Canada's flag bearer for the opening ceremony at the Olympics in Atlanta. She continued her Olympic commitment by being a founding member of the International Olympic Committee Ethics Commission and worked on the IOC Press Commission and the Culture and Education Committee. She received recognition for her community service with the 1992 Governor General's Award. It is no surprise to learn that she is working on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Committee!!
Amy Diooenbaker

Wheelchair sports Champion

At 14 she had an operation after a ski accident but there was the complication of gangrene and lost the use of a leg.  At that time she was told that she would never finish school nor would she have a career. These statements just fueled her youthful determination. She became a wheel chair athelete playing basketball and claiming three world wheelchair track records. She also really enjoys the thrill of kayaking. She attended the University of Guelph in Ontario where she became a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. In 1992, just after being out of school a few years she was diagnosed with having Multiple Sclerosis. This did not slow her career as a vet or her enjoyment and participation in sports. She runs her own companion animal mobile service in Chelsey, Ontario which has earned her an entrepreneurial award in 200. In 1998 she earned the King Clancy Award in sports and in 2001 she was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame. She has raised more than $20,000.00 for Cancer Research with her participation in the Terry Fox Runs over the years. She has also begun to express herself by playing the violin and is learning how to construct her own instrument. To totally relax she enjoys gardening. Source: Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective. Herstory 2007: the Canadian Women’s Calendar (Regina: Couteau Books, 2006)  pg. 28

Abigail Hoffman.  Born Toronto, Ontario February 11, 1947.   At 15 she won her first national championship in the 880-yard foot race.  She competed internationally for Canada at many events, including 4 Olympic games, 4 Pan-American Games and 2 Commonwealth Games. A champion for athlete’s rights and women in sport she is following a solid career as a sports administrator.
Diane Jones Konihowski. Born Vancouver, British Columbia 1951.  As an athlete, she first competed in pentathlon and track and field internationally in 1967. She would go on to win gold medals in the 1975 and 1979 Pan-American Games, as well as gold in t he 1978 Edmonton Commonwealth Games. After leaving competition she continued her career as an amateur sports administrator. Her work included working with the Alberta Sports Council until 1994.  She is a Member of the Order of Canada. 
Leah Pells Born Vancouver, British Columbia September 11, 1964. She has loved to run since she was very young. She joined the Canadian team in 1990 and dedicated herself to being a full time athlete. She has represented Canada at 2 Olympic Games, 2 Commonwealth Games and has competed in 4 athletics World Championships. Her forth place finish at the age of 32, at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 was down to the wire! In 1999 she married, literally the boy next door, John Turenne. July 1, 2002 she became a first time mother to a son. Still dedicated to her sport she does public appearances  for sports organizations and writes a column 'On the Run With Leah' for her local newspaper.
Chantal Peticlerc. Born Saint-Marc-des Carriéres, Quebec  December 15, 1969. This television host for Lotto Quebec has become the first woman Canadian star in the sport of wheelchair athletics. In the summer of 1995 she won 5 gold medals at the world championships for wheel chair athletics, and in 1996 she brought home 5 medal from the Paralympics.  Go ahead find out more about Chantal and other paralympians on the Internet.
Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld. Born Russia December 28, 1903. Died November 14, 1969. In 1950 she was declared Canada’s woman athlete of the half century. She was a member of the 1928 Olympic team. These were the first Olympic Games to allow women to compete. She brought home a silver and gold medal for Canada! She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
Ethel Smith. Born December 31, 1907. She teamed with Bobbie Rosenfeld, Myrtle Cook and Jane Bell to win the gold medal in the 400m relay at the 1928 Olympic games, the fist games that allowed women to compete. She also won the bronze medal in the 100m sprint at the same games. A natural athlete she excelled at basketball and softball as well as track and field. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Hilda Strike. Born September 1, 1910. An avid participant in almost every sport at high school she was encouraged to join the Canadian Ladies Athletic Club. At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics she won silver in the 100m sprint and silver as part of the relay team.  She is a member to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Angella Taylor.  (née Issajenko)  Born Jamaica, September 28, 1958.  Known in her sports career as Angella Taylor, she is one of Canada’s outstanding sprinters.  She holds international medals from the Commonwealth, Olympic, Pan-American, and World University games.  She has been female athlete of the year and holds 7 Canadian Championship titles.  She became a Member of the Order of Canada in 1985.
Thelma Sonia Wright née Wright Born Eastbourne, England October 9, 1951.She attended the University of British Columbia earning a Bachelor degree in Physical Education and then earned her teacher’s certificate while maintaining her sport career.  She joined the Canadian Track and Field National team in 1969 and for a decade held a position on the world competative podium establishing a role model for those who follow. She specialized in running middle distances and later in cross country running. She has won sliver medals at the World Student Games (1972) and the Mexico Pan-Am Games (1975) Add to these,  bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games (1970), US Cross Country (1970) , Pan Pacific Games (1973), Commonwealth Games (1974) and the 1975 New Zealand Games. It is impressive podium time. She was a member of the Canadian Olympic Track and Field team in 1972 and 1976. During her career Wright was a four time Canadian champion in the 1500 metre, and seven-time Canadian champion in the cross-country. Returning to the University of British Columbia 1987 she was coach to the track and field team for one year and during the summer of 1988 coached UBC's cross-country team. In 1988 she was also responsible for resurrecting University‘s track and field summer sports camp. She has been inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame and the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame.
Hilda May Cameron Young

Born Toronto, Ontario August 14, 1912. Died April 2001. She always loved to run. She competed in the 1934 British Empire Games where she finished firth in the 22o yard competition. The coaches  then suggested that she run a shorter distance. Although eliminated from the 100 yard individual event in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin Germany she and her team mates Dorothy Brookshaw, Mildred Dolson and Aileen Meagher would win the Bronze medal in the 100 yard relay (4 X 100). Hilda later married and spent the rest of her life in her beloved Toronto. Source: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Hilda_Cameron  (Accessed May 2009).

Weightlifting     back
Maryse Turcotte In 1990, while a student in high school, she helped out at a sports event in weightlifting and she fell en love with the sport. In 1997 she made history by becoming the first woman in the America's to lift double her body weight. She has earned a silver medal at the 1998 World Championships, a gold medal at  the Pan American Games in 1999 and gold in both 2000 and 2001 College and University World Games. She place forth in the Olympics in Sydney Australia.
Walking      back
Tina Poitras.  Born Thompson, Manitoba October 5, 1970. Tina grew up in Hull, Quebec across the river from Canada's capital, Ottawa.  This athlete is a race walker who specializes in the 10 km walk. She is currently ranked number 1 in this event in Canada.  She participated, for Canada, in the 1996 Olympic Games in this event. 
Water Skiing          back
Beth Leboff Born Montreal, Quebec. It seemed that when she was growing up at her family cottage in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec that all she wanted to do was water ski. Then she learned how to do it bare foot! She was hooked. The family found her a coach. She won the Canadian National Slalom event in 1991. In 1992 she swept gold in the overall category. She was the Quebec Water ski federation athlete of the Year for both 1991 and 1992. It was in 1992 she would become the only Canadian to win a world record elite title in barefoot water skiing. She accomplished this honour in grace and determination setting a new Canadian record in Women's jumping. She is currently practicing law in fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A. where she is a mother of 2 children.
Judy McClintock-Messer née McCintock. Born 1963. The entire family of five brothers and one sister enjoyed water skiing. 4 family members would go on to be National Team Members. Judy won her first national title when she was just 9!  Between 1979 and 1995 she competed every year. She holds 2 word titles in tricks and overall water skiing categories. Her titles were won ten years apart in 1985 and 1995! Her career saw her break Canadian records 48 times! She won a a total of 30 national titles and claimed 4 masters titles. Retired from competative water skiing she now enjoys competing in long distance running like the Boston Marathon. In summer 2005, Judy was inducted into the International Water Skiing Hall of Fame.
Pat Messner Born Hamilton, Ontario March 17, 1954. This former Girl Guide was the first Canadian woman to win a world championship in waterskiing in 1979. She is also the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in her sport. Pat won a bronze Olympic medal in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. She holds 19 Canadian titles and 20 national records. She is also the first Canadian woman to have won the United States Master’s waterskiing title. She is the founder of the Water Ski and Wakeboard Canadian Hall of Fame. In her spare time she has a career as a high school teacher, musician and paramedic. She was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1980, the youngest Canadian woman to ever receive this honour.
Wrestling    back
Christine Nordhagen Vierling Born Alberta June 26, 1971. In ten years of competition, Christine won 10 consecutive Canadian Championships and 6 world titles! In 2004 women's wrestling was finally established as and Olympic sport and Christine placed 5th for team Canada. She is married and teaches physical education at a Calgary high school.
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