Eric Lamaze rides horse Hickstead during a tournament in Switzerland in December. (Laurent Gilleiron/Keystone/Associated Press)Wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc and show jumper Eric Lamaze were named the female and male athletes of the year at the Canadian Sport Awards on Tuesday.
Petitclerc, 39, won five gold medals and set three world records while competing in her final Paralympic Games last summer in Beijing. The Montreal racer was also voted the Canadian Press female athlete of the year.
Lamaze, a 40-year-old from Schomberg, Ont., finished the year as the world's top-ranked rider. Lamaze and his mount, Hickstead, dominated the international show jumping scene.
Lamaze won a gold medal in individual show jumping at the Beijing Olympics and added a silver medal in the team competition.
The world champion Alberta curling rink of Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert took the team of the year honour. The Olympic champion men's eight rowers were named partners of the year and skeleton athlete Sara Reid was named junior athlete of the year.
The Canadian Sport Awards are presented by the charitable True Sport Foundation and are given out to the country's top amateur athletes. The winners were chosen by an independent jury.
