Canadian Olympic Hall welcoming inductees
• 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 on Monday.
Whitfield, who announced his retirement in 2013 after 16 years racing for Canada, unexpectedly won the inaugural Olympic triathlon event at 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 3m springboard at the 2004 Athens Games. He repeated the feat four years later in Beijing.
Emilie Heymans, the first female diver in the world to win medals at four consecutive Olympics, and Christine Girard, who is Canada’s first ever Olympic weightlifting champion, rounded out the four athlete inductees.
Girard’s bronze from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and gold from the 2012 London Olympics were awarded several years after the competition when athletes who had placed 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 Olympic Games to Vancouver in 2010 as chairman of the bid corporation, and Randy Starkman, an award- winning journalist known for his coverage of amateur sports, will both be inducted posthumously.
The induction ceremony will take place in Toronto on Oct. 23.