FIRTHS ENTER CANADA’S SPORTS HALL OF FAME

Sharon and Shirley Firth are among those being honoured this year by Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. (The twin sisters, former elite cross-country skiers, were the first Indigenous athletes to represent the country at the Winter Olympics. (Shirley will be inducted into the national hall posthumously as she died in 2013. (The Firths, members of the Gwich’in First Nation, were born in Aklavik in the Northwest Territories. (Though they did not win any medals, the sisters both competed at four Olympics. Their first was at the 1972 Sapporo Games. They also participated at the 1976 (Innsbruck), 1980 (Lake Placid) and 1984 (Sarajevo) events. (The sisters were dominant on the Canadian cross-country skiing scene from the late 1960’s to the mid-80s. Combined they won a total of 48 national championships. And they captured a total of 79 medals at Canadian championships. (The Firths also took part in four world championships. And they were members of the Canadian national team for 17 years, an amazing feat in itself. (A total of 12 individuals will enter the hall of fame this year. The list also includes Paul Coffey, regarded as one of the best defenceman to play in the National Hockey League, and Susan Auch, a five-time Olympian in speed skating. (The induction ceremony will be staged on Oct. 21 at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre, the former Maple Leaf Gardens. Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame though is located in Calgary.