Athlete leaders Chantal Petitclerc and Chandra Crawford recognized with AthletesCAN awards
AthletesCAN – October 26, 2016 – (Mississauga, ON) – AthletesCAN is pleased to announce that Chantal Petitclerc and Chandra Crawford are the recipients of the 2016 Athlete Leadership Award and Athlete Social Responsibility Award respectively. The pair was honoured Saturday at the 2016 AthletesCAN Forum in Mississauga, ON.
Athlete Leadership Award – Chantal Petitclerc
Sponsored by Purolator, Inc., the AthletesCAN Leadership Award recognizes the contributions of Canadian athlete leaders and celebrates the importance of athlete representatives and the successes they have achieved through their work as leaders and change agents.
Chantal has won medals at five Paralympic Games. She has 21 Paralympic medals, 14 of which are gold. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 800m when it was a demonstration sport at the Athens Olympics. Chantal beat 26 world records during her career.
“Purolator would like to congratulate Chantal Petitclerc on being the recipient of the 2016 AthletesCAN Leadership Award”, Nadia Fiore, Manager, Communications, Brand and Sponsorship at Purolator Inc., says. “Chantal’s remarkable athletic career and passion is truly an inspiration for the next generation of Canadian athletes”.
Chantal is a Companion of the Order of Canada and a Knight of the Order of Quebec. She won the Lou Marsh Trophy for Canadian Athlete of the Year and was inducted into the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame. She was the International Paralympic Committee’s athlete of the year, and was awarded the Juan Antonio Samaranch medal given by the IOC and the USA Sports Academy.
Chantal has worked with le Defi Sportif, Fueling Women Champions and Right to Play, and was Chef de Mission at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Chantal was recently named a Senator, and now serves Canadian’s in the Senate, bringing her years as an athlete and leader to bear on Canadian politics.
“It is such an amazing honour and privilege to be the recipient of the AthletesCAN Athlete Leader award,” Petitclerc says. “I’ve been an athlete for a long time, but to feel that when you retire you can still contribute to sport, the well-being of athletes and helping sport in Canada is so amazing.”
Athlete Social Responsibility – Chandra Crawford
AthletesCAN recognizes that athlete social responsibility (ASR) leaders play a crucial role in building a healthier, more active global population. The ASR award celebrates the importance of athletes giving back, honours the impact athletes have achieved through their volunteer work as role models in their communities, and encourages former athletes to stay connected to the sport community.
Chandra Crawford competed in Sochi, Vancouver and Turin. She has won seven world cup medals and her singing the national anthem on top of the podium in Turin in 2006, after winning gold in the cross country ski sprint event, is one of the enduring images of those games.
In 2014 she retired from skiing to pursue her other passion: empowering girls through sport with her organization Fast and Female, which she founded in 2005. Fast and Female has more than 250 volunteer athlete ambassadors and reaches more than 3000 girls 8-18 every year.
This year the Athlete Social Responsibility award was sponsored by Chimp, a charitable marketplace that connects people with the causes they care about. Chimp generously awarded Crawford with $1000 to donate to a charity of her choice. Chimp also gave $10 in donations credits to everyone who attended this year’s AthletesCAN Forum.
“Chimp is proud to recognize Chandra Crawford for her leadership inspiring the next generation of athletes,” says Ashleah Wilson, VP Brand Experience for charitable platform Chimp.net. “Chandra tirelessly encourages and empowers young women to pursue sport and healthy lifestyles, and I am inspired by Chandra’s example – and challenge to us all – to build a stronger community through sport.”
“It’s really meaningful to be recognized by my athlete peers,” Crawford says. “I’d like to dedicate my award to the thousands of girls who come out to our events every year and to their parents who send me messages after about how it impacted their daughters’ confidence.”
AthletesCAN, the association of Canada’s national team athletes, is the only fully independent and most inclusive athlete organization in the country and the first organization of its kind in the world. As the collective voice of Canadian national team athletes, AthletesCAN ensures an athlete centered sport system by developing athlete leaders who influence sport policy and, as role models, inspire a strong sport culture.
For more information, please contact:
Thomas Hall
Interim Executive Director
AthletesCAN