Sarah Burke among Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inductees
The late freestyle skier Sarah Burke, women’s hockey legend Geraldine Heaney and Olympic figure skating silver medallist Elizabeth Manley headline the list of athletes headed to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
The athletes, which were unveiled in Toronto on Wednesday, also include former cross-country skier Pierre Harvey, ski jumper HorstBulau, and ruby player Gareth Rees.
Former basketball coach Kathy Shields and wheelchair basketball coach Tim Frick will enter the Hall in the builders category.
Burke went from an unwanted pest on the halfpipe to one of its biggest stars and advocates. She won four Winter X Games superpipe gold medals, a halfpipe world title, and was the first woman to land a 1080-degree rotation in competition.
Burke successfully lobbied for the sport's inclusion in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Sadly, the Whistler, B.C., skier never got a chance to fulfill her dream of competing in the Olympics. Considered a gold-medal favourite, Burke died at the age of 29 in 2012 after a fall during a training run in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A pioneer in women’s hockey, Heaney won Olympic gold as part of Canada’s team at the 2002 Salt Lake Games, and earned a silver four years earlier in Nagano, Japan.
In 2013, Heaney joined countrywoman Angela James and American Cammi Granato as the only women inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Manley will forever hold a place in the hearts of Canadians following a memorable 1988 season. She first shocked skating pundits by winning a silver medal at the Calgary Olympics, and then repeated it with a silver-medal performance at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary.
She is also a three-time national champion and the first Canadian woman credited with landing a triple-double combination in completion.
"The Class of 2014 is truly an inspiring group of Canadian sports heroes," said Colin MacDonald, chair of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame board of governors.
"We are proud to be able to share the stories of their achievements so that we can inspire all Canadians to be the best they can be in all aspects of life. Our new Honoured Members and a number of sports heroes from across Canada who have been previously inducted will be at the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame 2014 Induction Celebrations presented by Canadian Tire event in Toronto on Oct. 22 to celebrate as the Class of 2014 are officially inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame."
