Sports Hall of Fame
CONT’D
The Sherbrooke Sports Hall of Fame has inducted seven athletes in 2019.
Volleyball player Pierre Bélanger, who was part of the Canadian Olympic team in 1976, was recognized by the City yesterday, nearly seven years after he was inducted to the Quebec volleyball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Rachèle Béliveau was part of the 1984 Canadian Olympic volleyball team in Los Angeles and was also inducted in 2009 at Du Phare high school and the University of Sherbrooke, where she played volleyball in her youth.
Doran “Duke” Doucet was recognized for his prowess in golf, as he joined professional golfing in 1968. He won the Quebec Club Professional Championship in 1972 and also won nine of 10 tournaments un the professional Quebec golf circuit.
The late Jean Lessard was recognized by the Sherbrooke Sports Hall of Fame for becoming the first French-canadian alpine ski champion. He also founded the Mount Sutton skiing school in 1960.
Frédéric Niemeyer is a remarkable tennis player who is particularly known for having beaten one of the best players in the world, Spain’s Felix Mantilla, in the first round at the 2003 Wimbledon tournament. Niemeyer made his way to the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and was also the number one player in Canada in 2005. He was inducted to the Coupe Rogers Hall of Fame in 2013.
Marc Quessy was recognized for his excellent performances as a Paralympian. After a tragic accident when he was 19, Quessy lost the use of his legs. He participated in three Paralympics and accumulated eight medals in wheelchair marathons.
Mathieu Turcotte was a member of the national short track speedskating team from 1996 to 2008. He won many gold medals at several world cups and participated in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he won a gold medal at the 5,000-metre relay and a bronze medal during the 1,000-metre relay. In the 2006 Olympics in Torino, he won the silver medal at the 5,000-metre relay. Turcotte also holds the Canadian record in short track speedskating in the 1,500metre relay.
Georges Laurent was recognized as a community leader for his involvement in soccer in the Sherbrooke area. After moving to Canada from France in 1966, he helped created the Association régionale de soccer de l’estrie in 1970 and helped coach teams from 1970 to 1976, winning seven regional championship titles. In 1973, he helped create the Volontaires du Cegep de Sherbrooke’s soccer team, which he directed until 1984. Under his supervision, the team won 16 championship titles, including three provincial AAA championships. Laurent also coached the University of Sherbrooke’s Vert et Or soccer team from 1987 to 1992. He coached a total of 53 teams in Sherbrooke, and was inducted into the Quebec Soccer Hall of Fame in 1999.
The 1995 Mistral Estrie senior men’s soccer team and the 2003-2005 University of Sherbrooke’s Vert et Or women’s volleyball team, were both alsp recognized on Wednesday. The soccer team for winning the gold medal in Winnipeg at the Canadian Soccer Championships in 1995; the first time that a Quebec soccer club won the gold medal at these championships since 1961, as well as the first Canadian championship title for an Estrie team. The women’s volleyball team was honoured for being the first Quebec team to win the Canadian University Championships title in 2003. In 2005, the team won the Championships again, led by Mélissa Raymond who was named best athlete of the tournament in 2003 and 2005.
The names and photographs of the new Sports Hall of Fame inductees will be printed on a new commemorative plaque which will be places alongside the others on the north shore of Lac des Nations.