Athletes and a media personality with ties to Vancouver Island are being inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the non-profit announced Wednesday.
Five athletes, three builder-coaches, one team, one pioneer, one media member and the winner of the W.A.C. Bennett Award will “join the member ranks in May 2024,” according to the organization in a news release.
Victoria’s Ryan Cochrane, 34, is being honoured in the swimming category, while Comox-raised Cassie Sharpe, 31, is being recognized for freestyle skiing.
Don Taylor, who co-hosts the daily sports talk show “Donnie and Dhali: The Team” on CHEK TV, is being recognized in the media category for his work spanning decades.
‘Highest sporting honour’
The trio are among those named to the class of 2024. The full inductee list is below.
“Induction into the BC Sports Hall of Fame is the highest sporting honour in British Columbia,” says the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
It says Cochrane, an Olympic medalist, is “Canada’s most decorated male swimmer of all time,” having scored silver in 1500m freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics and bronze in 1500m freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
He’s also an eight-time medalist at the World Aquatics Championships, a four-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist, a three-time Pan Pacific Swimming Championships gold medalist and a two-time Pan American Games gold medalist.
He retired following the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Sharpe, meanwhile, is “one of Canada’s best freestyle skiers in recent years,” says the BC Sports Hall of Fame, highlighting her wins at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships and the Winter X Games.
She’s also an Olympic medalist, having won gold in women’s halfpipe freestyle skiing at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and silver at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
As for Taylor, the BC Sports Hall of Fame says the North Burnaby native is one of B.C.’s “most popular and widely-respected sports broadcasters bringing British Columbians ‘up to date in the world of sports’ for over forty years.”
It says he’s known for his “often hilarious delivery of sports highlights complete with impressions, catchphrases, and obscure sports trivia.”
Taylor, 64, has several radio and TV credits before his show on CHEK, including Sportsnet and TEAM/TSN 1040.
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This year's inductee in the Media category is @DonnieandDhali host @DonTaylor5! One of BC’s most widely respected broadcasters has been keeping British Columbians ‘up to date in the world of sports’ for over forty years including time with Sports Page, Sportsnet and TSN1040. pic.twitter.com/EAqLcaPYQL
— BC Sports Hall of Fame (@BCSportsHall) October 25, 2023
Tom Mayenknecht, chair of the BC Sports Hall of Fame, says the inductee announcement comes after months of anticipation.
“Honouring the past — and inspiring the future — is at the very heart of the mission of the BC Sports Hall of Fame and this year’s honourees truly exemplify the best of sport in this province and beyond,” said Mayenknecht in the release.
Here’s the full list of inductees:
Athletes
- Amanda Asay – Baseball
- Ryan Cochrane – Swimming
- Justin Morneau – Baseball
- Cassie Sharpe – Freestyle Skiing
- Richard Zokol – Golf
Builders-Coaches
- Beverley Felske – Ringette
- Dr. Bob McCormack – Sports Medicine
- Wayne Norton – Baseball
Team
- 1998 Langley Little League All-Stars Boys Baseball
Pioneer
- 1921-22 Vancouver Amazons Women’s Hockey Team – Ice Hockey
Media
- Don Taylor
W.A.C. Bennett Award
- Glen Ringdal
Congratulations to inductee Ryan Cochrane (@cochraneryan)! The Victoria native is Canada’s most decorated male swimmer of all-time, winning Olympic silver (2012) and bronze (2008). He is also an 8-time medalist at the World Aquatics Championships, the most ever won by a Canadian. pic.twitter.com/7xP1IDkQcQ
— BC Sports Hall of Fame (@BCSportsHall) October 25, 2023
Congratulations to inductee Cassie Sharpe! The Comox native was Canada’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist in women’s halfpipe freestyle skiing (2018) and followed that up with an Olympic silver in 2022. pic.twitter.com/KlHislDEqj
— BC Sports Hall of Fame (@BCSportsHall) October 25, 2023
Ethan Morneau
