CALGARY - Athletes Charmaine Crooks of Vancouver, B.C., Milt Ottey of Toronto, Ont., Guillaume LeBlanc of Sept-Îles, Que., Dave Steen of New Westminster, B.C., and Bruny Surin of Montreal, Que., were enriched into Athletics Canada's Hall of Fame this morning to officially kick off Hall of Fame Friday at the 2012 Canadian Track and Field trials. The event was hosted by Scott Russell of CBC Sports Weekend and also saw the induction of Bob Adams of Saskatoon, Sask., in the builder category, Lyle Sanderson of Saskatoon, Sask., in the coach category and Myrtle Cook of Toronto, Ont., Fred Foot from Toronto, Ont., and Harry Jerome of Prince Albert, Sask., were honoured in memoriam.
Athletics Canada Hall of Fame Class of 2012
Athlete Category
A five time Olympian, Charmaine Crooks was the first Canadian woman to run under two minutes in the 800-metres, to this day is still only one of four to accomplish the feat. Charmaine was a national team member for 17 years, most notably winning silver at the 1984 Olympic Games in the 4x400-metres relay. She is a three time Pan American Games medalist (gold in 1983, silver in 1983 and 1987), a two time Commonwealth Games medalist (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 at the 1992 Olympic Games won the silver medal in the 20 kilometre race walk. He also won gold at the 1990 Commonwealth Games and set a world record in the 30-kilometre race walk, a time that still stands today as the Canadian record. LeBlanc also holds the Canadian record in the 10000-metres race walk.
Milt Ottey finished the 1982 season as the number one world ranked high jumper. Ottey was a finalist at the Olympic Games and World Championships and retired with a personal best of 2.33-metres. He is a triple Commonwealth Games medalist (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 medalist was the first Canadian to surpass the magical 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 medalist in the 60-metres (1993 and 1995). He 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 spans many decades as an athlete, coach, official and builder. Bob was well suited for his years in coaching after competing as an athlete at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. He later served 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. Bob was named honourary meet director for the 2012 Canadian Track and Field Trials.
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. Lyle 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 medalist, owned seven world records throughout his career.