AC announces 2012 Hall of Fame Inductees; Crooks, Ottey, LeBlanc, Steen, Surin get call

Monday, April 30, 2012

"After the overwhelming response to the first group of members inducted into the Athletics Canada Hall of Fame last year, it is truly a pleasure to be able to announce the names of the 2012 inductees,” said Dr. Danny Daniels, Vice Chair of Athletics Canada and Chair of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee.  “As well as honouring some of the outstanding athletes who have more recently added to Canada's fine international reputation, we are proud to remember the achievements of our past heroes and acknowledge those whose commitment built the solid base upon which our sport continues to grow in excellence today.”

The Class of 2012 will officially be inducted in conjunction with the Canadian Track and Field Trials taking place in Calgary, Alta., June 27-30.  CBC Sports Weekends’ Scott Russell will serve as host of the official induction which will kick off “Hall of Fame Friday” at the Trials on June 29.   

Athletics Canada Hall of Fame Class of 2012

Athlete Category

Charmaine Crooks is a five time Olympian and was the first Canadian woman to run under two minutes in the 800-metres.  She was a national team member for an outstanding 17 years, notably winning silver at the 1984 Olympic Games in the 4x400-metres relay. Crooks is a three time Pan American Games medallist (gold in 1983, silver in 1983 and 1987), a two time Commonwealth Games medallist (gold in 1986, silver in 1994) and was selected to carry the Canadian flag during the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games.

Guillaume LeBlanc is a three time Olympian and the 1992 Olympic Games silver medallist in the 20 kilometre race walk.  LeBlanc won gold at the 1990 Commonwealth Games and set the world record in the 30-kilometre race walk in a time of 2:04:56, a mark that still stands as the Canadian record.  LeBlanc also holds the Canadian record in the 10000-metre race walk.

Milton “Milt” Ottey finished the 1982 competitive season as the number one world ranked high jumper.  Ottey was a finalist at the Olympic Games and World Championships; he retired with a personal best of 2.33-metres.  Ottey is a triple Commonwealth Games medallist (gold in 1982 and 1986, bronze in 1990), won Pan American Games bronze in 1979 and was eight-time national champion. 

Dave Steen won bronze in the decathlon at the 1988 Olympic Games.  The 1983 Pan American Games gold medallist was the first Canadian to ever surpass the magic mark of 8000 points in the decathlon.  Steen was awarded the Canadian Track and Field Associations’ (now Athletics Canada) most outstanding athlete in field events award on four occasions.  Steen remains active in Canadian sport as Ambassador for Canada’s Fair Play Commission.

Bruny Surin is a two time World Indoor Championship gold medallist in the 60-metres in 1993 and 1995.  Surin also won silver at the 1995 and 1999 World Outdoor Championships in the 100-metres.  At the 1996 Olympic Games he won gold as a member of the 4x100-metres relay team.  Today he still holds the Canadian record over 60-metres (indoor), 100-metres, 200-metres (indoor) and as a member of the 4x100-metres relay team.

Builder Category

Robert “Bob” Adams’ involvement in the sport spanned many decades as an athlete, coach, official and builder.  Adams was well suited for his years in coaching after competing as an athlete at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.  He would later serve as head coach at the 1958 Commonwealth Games and 1964 Olympic Games.  In 1976 he was appointed chief judge of the pole vault for the Montreal Olympic Games.   Bob is a founding member of the Saskatoon Track and Field Club and currently sits on the Board of Director for the Bob Adams Foundation.  The foundation supports athletes, coaches and officials at the grassroots level.

Coach Category

Lyle Sanderson coached Olympians Diane Jones Konihowski and Joanne McTaggart, served as head coach at the University of Saskatchewan for 39 years, leading them to 11 national and 33 conference titles.  Sanderson was named to the Canadian coaching staff of 54 Athletics Canada national teams, including three Olympic Games (1976, 1980 and 1984), and two World Championships (1993 and 2001). He is a two time recipient (1977, 1979) of the Canadian Track and Field Association (now Athletics Canada) Coach of the Year award.  In 2010 he was awarded the Geoff Gowan Award for his lifetime contribution to coaching and development.

In memoriam

Myrtle Cook, (1902-1985), participated in the first Olympic Games which allowed female athletics competitors in 1928.  She won gold at those Games as a member of the 4x100-metres relay team.  Earlier that same season, at the 1928 Olympic Trials, she set the world record in the 100-metres. Cook went on to enjoy a successful career in sports writing, using her position to positively advocate for women in sport.

Fred Foot, (1917-2002) is responsible for having developed some of the world’s best middle distance runners in the 1950’s and 1960’s, athletes such as Bruce Kidd, Bill Crothers, and George Sheppard.  In 1956 Foot was named head coach of the Canadian Track and Field Olympic team and coached at least one athlete on every Olympic Games team between 1948 and 1984.  Foot recruited a bevy of current successful coaches such as Andy Higgins, Carl Georgevski and Molly Killingbeck.  Foot coached at the East York Track Club for 25 years and at the University of Toronto for 15 years.

Harry Jerome (1940-1982) is the only athlete to own both the 100 yard and 100-metres world records simultaneously.  Jerome represented Canada at three Olympic Games (1960, 1964 and 1968), winning a bronze medal in the 100-metres at the 1964 Games.  Jerome, the 1966 Commonwealth Games and 1967 Pan American Games gold medallist, owned seven world records throughout his career.

For more information visit www.athletics.ca/halloffame.

Follow our inductees on Twitter:  @charmainecrooks (Charmaine Crooks) @BrunySurin (Bruny Surin)

-AC-

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