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Hughes headlines hall of fame class

The 2010 class of inductees for Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame was such a who’s who of sport that Clara Hughes found herself thrilled at being among such heady company.
Jean-Luc Brassard, Clara Hughes, Chantal Petitclerc, Patrick Roy, Kyle Shewfelt, Jacques Villeneuve, Dr. Roger Jackson, Scott Ac
2010 inductees for Canada's Sports Hall of Fame pose for a group photo in Calgary on Wednesday Nov. 10

CALGARY — The 2010 class of inductees for Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame was such a who’s who of sport that Clara Hughes found herself thrilled at being among such heady company.

“I’m just in awe of the class of 2010,” said Hughes, an Olympic medallist in both the Summer and Winter Games. “I can’t believe I’m a part of it.

“I’m also a fan of sports. Every Olympics I’ve gone to I have followed all the stories. I’ve been inspired by every other inductee this year.”

Joining Hughes in the 2010 members inducted Wednesday were race car driver Jacques Villeneuve, gymnast Kyle Shewfelt, former NHL goaltender Patrick Roy, Paralympian Chantal Petitclerc, freestyle skier Jean-Luc Brassard as well as Roger Jackson and the late Bob Ackles in the builder category.

“More than anything I’m just so proud and so happy,” said Hughes.

Hughes, who carried Canada’s flag at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Games, is the only person to have won multiple medals in both the summer and winter Olympics. She won two cycling bronze medals in 1996 in Atlanta, then four medals on the ice in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.

Petitclerc capped a remarkable Paralympic career in 2008, completing a sweep of 10 consecutive gold medals. The Montreal native won the 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1,500-metre events over two Olympic Games, and a total of 14 gold, five silver and two bronze over five Games.

“Every time I get an honour or a recognition I think back to Beijing because it was such a dream come true for me to go out there and get those five gold medals and sometimes I still wonder how I did make it happen,” she said.

“As a Paralympic athlete I cannot help thinking that this is such a great achievement and that as a country we should be proud that we do recognize our Paralympic sport, our Paralympic athletes the same way we recognize our Olympic athletes.”

Shewfelt captured Canada’s first Olympic gold in gymnastics, a sport traditionally dominated by Europeans and Asians. The Calgarian won the floor exercise at the 2004 Games in Athens and then battled back from a devastating injury to compete at the 2008 Beijing Games.

“Is this really happening right now? Am I sitting beside Jacques and Patrick? Wow,” Shewfelt gushed.

“What an honour this is for me. This is also an honour for gymastics in Canada because I’m the very first artistic gymnast to be inducted into the hall of fame.”

Villeneuve follows his father Gilles into the Hall. The younger Villeneuve, from Iberville, Que., is only the third driver after Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi to win the Indy Car Championship, the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One World Championship. Villeneuve is the only Canadian to win the Indianapolis 500 or the F1 Drivers’ title.

He said the honour means more to him than he expected.

“Once you take a step back you realize what you achieve and what it means to your country. To be here tonight is a much more special feeling that I ever imagined it could be. It feels as great as actually winning,” Villeneuve said.

For Roy, being added to the Hall of Fame is making him remember what got him to this point.

“I’m involved with junior hockey and I am so hooked up in this sometimes I think I don’t take enough time to think about the past. It forced me to stop and start thinking about how great it was,” Roy said.

Roy, who had stellar careers with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, popularized the butterfly style of goaltending.

He retired with the most regular-season wins as an NHL goalie and the most combined wins in the regular season and playoffs. He was the NHL’s only three-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the top player in the playoffs.

Brassard captured 20 World Cup gold medals, two World Cup moguls titles and two overall world titles over his 12-year freestyle career. The native of Valleyfield, Que., won moguls gold at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics in the sport’s debut as a medal event.

Jackson has earned a second invitation to the Hall, his first was as an athlete after winning gold in rowing with George Hungerford at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Jackson has served as director of Sport Canada, president of the Canadian Olympic Association, a consultant on six Olympic bids and architect of Own the Podium, which helped Canada capture the most Olympic gold medals in its history in 2010.

Ackles was the only non-player to win the Schenley Award for his contributions to the Canadian Football League. Starting as a water boy at 15, he worked his way up the B.C. Lions organization to become director of football development in 1966, assistant GM in 1971, and GM from 1975 to 1986. He died in 2008.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame roster now stands at 514 members. The new facility located at Canada Olympic Park is expected to be complete in June, 2011.