Dec. 31, 2022
It was another impressive year for Ottawa’s top coaches, athletes, and teams as the city cheered on international medallists and national champions in many sports. As a result, it is once again a highly decorated group who will take home the 2022 Major Awards at the Ottawa Sports Awards.
Tyrone Henry wins his first Athlete of the Year award after helping Canada to a silver medal finish in para ice hockey at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games while speed skating’s Olympic gold medallists Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann share the women’s Athlete of the Year trophy for the second straight year. Head coach of Canada’s athletics team, Glenroy Gilbert wins his fifth Coach of the Year accolade following a men’s relay gold at the World Championships, and is joined this year by two-time winner Cheyanne Farquharson who continues to lead the Rideau Canoe Club to national success. Team of the Year winners are three-time defending U SPORTS National Championship winning Carleton Raven’s men’s basketball team and the back-to-back national championship winning U18 Ottawa Lions Girls Cross Country Team.
The winners, in addition to the Lifetime Award recipients which were announced earlier this month, will be celebrated at the 2022 Ottawa Sports Awards Dinner, February 8 at The Centurion Conference and Event Center. Tickets for the Ottawa Sports Awards Dinner will be on sale January 1.
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MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – TYRONE HENRY
Tyrone Henry wins his first Athlete of the Year award after helping Canada to a silver medal finish in para ice hockey at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. A seven-year veteran on the national team, Henry served as assistant captain at the Beijing Games. Locally, the defenceman is a key member of Sledge Hockey Eastern Ontario which saw four members on the silver-medal winning squad in China. Henry is a four-time Ottawa Sports Award recipient as the top para ice hockey athlete in the city, and was also recognized as a member of the Ottawa Rowing Club team as a Henley champion in 2013.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – IVANIE BLONDIN AND ISABELLE WEIDEMANN
After sharing the 2021 Athlete of the Year Award with almost identical seasons, Blondin and Weidemann took different paths to sharing the 2022 edition of the Award. The duo climbed to the top of the Olympic podium together, earning the gold medal in Team Pursuit. Blondin added a silver in the mass start to her Olympic haul, while Weidemann raced to silver in the 5000m and bronze in the 3000m and carried Canada’s flag into the closing ceremonies. In World Cup action, Blondin started the 2022-23 circuit on a tear with six individual medals including a gold in mass start, with Weidemann earning a bronze and silver in the 3000m. The pair has captured two World Cup gold medals in team pursuit. Simply put, they remain at the top of the speed skating world and were among Canada’s most successful athletes in 2022.
MALE COACH OF THE YEAR – GLENROY GILBERT
A record-breaking gold medal performance by Canada’s men’s 4x100m relay team at the 2022 World Championships put Glenroy Gilbert over the top for his second straight Coach of the Year award, and the fifth of his career.
The team executed Gilbert’s aggressive strategy perfectly, ensuring quick exchanges, to capture the first international gold medal for Canada in that event since 1997. The time of 37.48 was the fastest in the world in 2022 and set a new Canadian national record. Gilbert has been Athletics Canada’s head coach since 2017.
FEMALE COACH OF THE YEAR – CHEYANNE FARQUHARSON
As head coach of the Rideau Canoe Club, Farquharson has overseen unprecedented success at the national level. In 2022, the club won its fourth consecutive Canoe Kayak Canada Burgee as the top Club in Canada.
The RCC had 14 athletes representing Canada internationally at the World Championships, U23 and Junior World Championships, and Olympic Hopes Regatta, capturing multiple medals including three at the World Championships. At the Canada Games, club members stepped onto the podium eight times. This is Farquharson’s second Coach of the Year award from the Ottawa Sports Awards, winning her first back in 2013.
MALE TEAM OF THE YEAR – CARLETON RAVENS MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Carleton Ravens won the U SPORTS men’s basketball national championship in 2022, lifting the trophy for the third straight season. In 2022, the perennial favourites were undefeated in regular season play but found themselves in unfamiliar territory as the number seven seed in the national championship tournament, having been defeated in the Ontario championship playoffs. However, the team’s experience and depth at the national tournament powered the Ravens to the banner as they won the gold medal game 85-72 after a thrilling one-point victory in the semifinal and a resounding 94-77 win in the opening round.
FEMALE TEAM OF THE YEAR – OTTAWA LIONS U18 GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
The hometown champions struck again, becoming just the second team in history to win back-to-back gold medals at the Canadian Cross Country Championships. After a one-point margin of victory in 2021, the defending champions were more emphatic in 2022 and secured the first place finish by 30 points. Amelia Van Braban was the team’s top finisher again, placing 18th overall, while the team’s top four were all in the top fifty.
The Ottawa Sports Awards is the largest and most inclusive amateur sport recognition event in Canada and will mark its 70th anniversary this year. Winners of the individual sport awards and team recognition awards will be announced in mid-January.
Click here to view our past winners!