Top Falls athletes honoured at city hall
Gautier, McLean sisters and Najberts recognized by council
Some of Niagara Falls’ most accomplished athletes were singled out for recognition at Tuesday’s city council meeting. Honoured were:
Shelley Gautier, who earned her 14th world championship title in Italy in August by winning 27.2 km women’s T1 competition at the Union Cycling Internationale Para-Cycling Road World Championships.
This year, Gautier has also placed first in time trials and competitions at the Para-Cycling World Cup event in Ostend, Belgium in May; the Para-Cycling World Cup event in Emmens, in the Netherlands; and at the UCI Para-Cycling World Cup event in Baie Comeau, Que. in August.
She competed at the 2012 Paralympics in London and again at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she won a bronze medal.
Gautier has been the reigning world champ since 2010. The T1 category is for cyclists with significant balance issues;
Liz and George Najbert, who won the gold medal and national title in mixed doubles tennis in the 65+ division at the Canada 55+ Games held in August in Saint John, N.B.
The pair qualified for the national championship by winning the provincials last year, and have been regional champions for the past three years;
Tatum and Carlyn McLean, sisters who competed with World Performers Canada at the Dance World Cup in Spain earlier this year. Each had five dances, with Tatum winning two world gold medals and one world silver while Carlyn earned three world bronze medals.
Both train at Laurie Ewart’s Danceworks in Niagara Falls, and were among the team selected from 1,500 who auditioned to compete in Spain.
Each year, World Performers Canada partners with Dance World Cup Europe to provide elite dancers the chance to travel to different European countries and compete on the world stage in a variety of dance disciplines.