Canadian 1992 Women’s Coxless Four Inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame Class 2013

Photo: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

Five (!) of the Canadian women’s 1992 Olympic crew in the coxless four will be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame later this year, the Hall of Fame’s website writes:

Winning a gold medal at the Olympics is hard. The ability to remain calm and focused throughout one’s match or race can mean the difference. The 1992 Women’s Olympic Gold Medal Crew in the Coxless Four: Kirsten Barnes, Brenda Taylor, Jessica Monroe-Gonin, Kay Worthington and Jennifer Walinga did exactly that. A day before the competition, Walinga was forced to withdraw from the competition due to injury. The team remained focused, trusting that Kay Worthington would be able to continue the success and keep the chemistry of the crew. The substitution of Worthington into the crew was so seamless that it resulted in the crew winning Olympic gold.

The crew understood that the Olympic gold medal they won that day was not just won on the day of the race, but through the training and competitions leading up to it. Since Walinga was not in the boat, she did not receive a medal from the International Olympic Committee. As such, Taylor created a replica of one of her two Olympic gold medals that she had won at the Olympic Games and donated it to Walinga; recognizing the fact that the crew could not have won the gold medal without her. The united determination of the five women bonded them as they handled their challenges. In the end, their determination, focus, trust and sacrifice would define them as one of Canada’s best rowing crews ever.