Star divers, women’s teams among Olympic hall nominees

TORONTO Former triathlon champion Simon Whitfield and diving standout Alexandre Despatie are among this year’s class of nine inductees to the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Monday.

Whitfield, who announced his retirement in 2013 after 16 years racing for Canada, won the inaugural Olympic triathlon event in Sydney in 2000 and added a silver eight years later in Beijing.

Despatie became the first Canadian man to reach an Olympic podium in diving when he won a silver medal in the individual three-metre springboard at the 2004 Athens Games. He repeated the feat four years later in Beijing.

Emilie Heymans, who became the first female diver in the world to win medals at four straight Olympics, and Christine Girard, Canada’s first Olympic weightlifting champion, round out the four athlete inductees.

Girard’s bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and gold medal from the 2012 London Olympics were awarded several years after competition, when athletes ahead of her were disqualified for doping.

The women’s ice hockey team that conceded just two goals en route to a gold medal at the 2010 Olympics and women’s soccer team that in 2012 won Canada’s first Summer Olympic team sport medal ( bronze) since 1936 are also being inducted.

Hiroshi Nakamura, who is responsible for the establishment of judo as a competitive sport in Canada and served as head coach at five Olympics, is also being inducted.

Jack Poole, who played a key role in bringing the Olympics to Vancouver in 2010, and Randy Starkman, an award-winning journalist known for his coverage of amateur sports, will both be inducted posthumously in Toronto Oct. 23.