It's an honour to be nominated.
Several Okanagan athletes and were finalists and one took home a prestigious honour at the 57th annual Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards Thursday, March 6, in Vancouver.
鈥淭he 57th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards celebrated sport in B.C. at all levels. We were inspired by the sport stories of all of our finalists, the category winners, and the organizations they represent," said Sport BC鈥檚 president and CEO, Rob Newman. 鈥淲e are proud to bring the amateur sport community together and thank our guests, sponsors, and friends in sport."
麻豆精选's Malindi Elmore was the winner of the KidSport Community Champion award.
Elmore, who was honoured at last year鈥檚 awards as the Master Athlete of the Year, and competed at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in the women鈥檚 marathon, used her platform in the weeks leading up to her departure for the Olympics to help raise more than $26,000 for KidSport.
The three-time Olympian, and mom of two, teamed up with the 麻豆精选 KidSport chapter to host a special advanced screening of CBC鈥檚 鈥淩unning a Revolution鈥�, which documents women鈥檚 struggle for equality in the marathon event, and Elmore鈥檚 inspiring journey to Paris 2024.
Proceeds from ticket sales for the event were donated to KidSport. Funds were also raised through an online silent auction, sales of exclusive Run Malindi Run t-shirts, and online donations. Elmore exceeded her original $24,000 fundraising goal, raising $26,700 for KidSport, which will fund a season of sport for approximately 90 kids.
Vernon's Cole Budgen was a finalist in the Male High School Athlete of the Year Award. Budgen was the quarterback and team captain of the Vernon Panthers, guiding the club to a second consecutive BC high school football AA championship final.
Defending champion Vernon came just short of a repeat title in a 17-14 loss to North Vancouver's Windsor Dukes, but Budgen league MVP and Inter-Conference Player of the Year. He was also team captain of his school鈥檚 varsity basketball team, and a member of the Panthers鈥� golf squad.
Windsor quarterback Emmet Ward, who led the second-half comeback from 14-0 down against the Panthers, was also a finalist. Neither QB took home the honour, which went to wrestler Michealjeet Grewal from Abbotsford's WJ Mouat Secondary.
Grewal dominated the high school and national wrestling ranks in his weight class n 2024, leading WJ Mouat to team and combined titles at the BC School Sports Provincial Championships while also winning his 90-kilo weight class.
He also was best in both freestyle and Greco Roman disciplines at the 2024 national championships and won the 92-kilo final at the U17 Pan American Championships in the Dominican Republic. He capped his season with a fifth-place finish at the U17 world championships.
Salmon Arm's Maggie Manning was a finalist for the Female Athlete with a Disability honour.
Manning grew up in Salmon Arm playing stand-up hockey and ringette and, while initially advancing to the Paralympic hockey ranks as a skater, she made the move to goaltender in 2022 and has never looked back.
Manning, 25, recorded two shutout wins at the 2024 Women鈥檚 World Challenge in Norway, her first international tournament with the Canadian women鈥檚 para hockey team. Those wins against Great Britain and Team Pacific helped propel Team Canada to second place at the tournament.
The award went to White Rock's Danielle Ellis, a sitting volleyball player, who captained Canada to the bronze medal at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. Ellis scored 13 points in the bronze-medal win over Brazil.
Also nominated was Julia Hanes of Vancouver, who works as a resident doctor but still finds time to compete at the highest level of Paralympic Athletics. In 2024 Hanes, 29, held Canadian records for shot put, discus and javelin in her F33 class and at the 2024 Canadian championships she rewrote her national shot put record three times over a course of six throws. Hanes took gold in javelin at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix .
Penticton's Isaac Boehmer made it to the final three in the Junior Male Athlete of the Year category.
Boehmer stood tall between the posts for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the final of the Telus Canadian Championships. Boehmer's play helped the Whitecaps win 4-2 on penalty kics over Toronto FC after the match was deadlocked 0-0 after regulation time. He was awarded the George Gross Memorial Trophy as tournament MVP and was also named the tournament鈥檚 Best Young Canadian Player.
The award went to Vancouver's Nick Zhang, who competes in fencing. At age 17, Zhang qualified for the 2024 Olympics with a dramatic overtime win in the epee final at the Pan Am Qualifier, becoming the youngest male epee fencer from Canada to qualify for the Games. He also won gold at the Junior Canada Cup and finished 14th at the 2024 Junior World Championships.
Also nominated for the award was Surrey judoka Lowan Le Bris, who was just 16 when he won gold in the men鈥檚 senior 66k division at the national judo championships, the youngest athlete to win a senior Canadian championship title.
A full list of the winners can be found below.
鈥� Female Athlete with a Disability
Danielle Ellis (White Rock) 鈥� Sitting Volleyball;
鈥� Female Coach of the Year
Dorina Stan (North Vancouver) - Gymnastics;
鈥� Male Coach of the Year
Dylan Armstrong (Kamloops);
鈥� Male Athlete with a Disability
Cody Fournie (Victoria) 鈥� Para Athletics (Wheelchair Racing);
鈥� High School Female Athlete of the Year
Agnia Krakovska (Maple Ridge) 鈥� Wrestling (Maple Ridge Secondary);
鈥� High School Male Athlete of the Year
Michealjeet Grewal (Abbotsford) 鈥� Wrestling (WJ Mouat Secondary);
鈥� Junior Female Athlete of the Year
Chloe Primerano (North Vancouver) 鈥� Ice Hockey;
鈥� Junior Male Athlete of the Year
Nick Zhang (Vancouver) - Fencing;
鈥� Senior Female Athlete of the Year
Camryn Rogers (Richmond) - Athletics;
鈥� Senior Male Athlete of the Year
Ethan Katzberg (Nanaimo) - Athletics;
鈥� Post Secondary Athlete of the Year
Marie-Eloise Leclair 鈥� Track and Field (SFU);
鈥� Team of the Year
Team Canada National Junior Squash Team;
鈥� Master Athlete of the Year
Diane Silzer (North Vancouver) 鈥� Speed Skating;
鈥� Official of the Year
Brian Hiebert (Vancouver) 鈥� Beach Volleyball;
An additional six awards were presented including the Best of BC, KidSport BC Community Champion, Harry Jerome Comeback, Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award, Bobbie Steen, and two In Her Footsteps Honourees.
鈥� Best of BC
Ihor Verys 鈥� Ultra Running;
鈥� KidSport Community Champion
Malindi Elmore - Athletics;
鈥� Harry Jerome Comeback Award
Zachary Clay - Gymnastics;
鈥� Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award
Leslie Buchanan 鈥� Triathlon;
鈥� BC Women and Sport Recognition Awards
鈥� In Her Footsteps...Celebrating BC Women in Sport
Katie Gordon - Rugby;
Mary Morice 鈥� Gymnastics;
鈥� Bobbie Steen Legacy Foundation Award
Katie Miyazaki 鈥� Basketball, Wheelchair Basketball, Football
