Posted: March 8, 2006

Athletics: Charmaine Crooks awarded Americas Women and Sport Trophy by IOC

2006 Women and Sport Trophy winners

from left to right - name (region) Mrs. Lee (Asia), Mrs. Charmaine Crooks (Americas), Mrs. Petit (Europe), Mrs. Sabatini (World), Mrs. Andrade (Africa), Mrs. Mar (Oceania) credit: © IOC/R. Juilliart

OTTAWA - Athletics Canada is thrilled to announce that alumni Charmaine Crooks was honoured today in Geneva Switzerland by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with the Americas continent Women and Sport Trophy. The winners were selected by the IOC Women and Sport Commission from candidatures submitted by National Olympic Committees and International Federations of Olympic sports.

Charmaine Crooks represented Canada in track and field for nearly 20 years. The first Canadian women to run 800 meters in under two minutes and a five time Olympian, she won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Charmaine won gold medals at Pan American, Commonwealth, World Cup and World Student Games. She was the Canadian flag bearer at the 1996 Olympics.

Charmaine's impressive career would continue off the track. In 1996 she was elected to the IOC's Athletes Commission and would then serve as an IOC member until 2004. Charmaine is also an active member of the IOC Press Commission, World Olympians Association, Canadian NOC, and Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Charmaine was also a part of the athlete driven international humanitarian organization "Right to Play" which focuses on the development of children and youth as well as special support for girls. She is the creator of the "Sportscares" organization, which is devoted to helping disadvantaged youth, in particular girls and women, get involved in sports and healthy lifestyles.

Charmaine was recognized in 2000 and 2004 as the most influential women in sport by the Canadian Association for Advancement of Women and Sport. She was inducted into the British Columbia Sport Hall of Fame in 2003; in 1993 she received the Governor General's Award for community service.

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