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The Canada Olympic Committee has narrowed down their choice of athlete of the year finalists to eight finalists.
FOX’s David Webb previews the nominees on “FOX on Sports”:
The athletes of the year are taking their talents to Japan next year.
These final candidates face a tough competition after two athletes, including one each from Team USA and Canada, claimed the top honors at the 2018 Games. Justine Dufour-Lapointe won gold and silver in moguls, and Jocelyne Larocque claimed the bronze medal in women’s hockey.
They’re up against just the second hockey player of the year award in 35 years, after Shea Weber claimed the gold medal in men’s defense in 2010.
All eight finalists are what the COC classifies as medal winners at these Winter Games, meaning that they were among the top two Canadians who received most of the medals.
All eight finalists are based in Canada, except for boxer Adonis Stevenson, who hails from Haiti. The COC says they’re able to differentiate between the country’s local and international boxers.
The winner will be announced in early 2019.
Including Team USA, the finalists for the event are Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Mikael Kingsbury, Charlie Lindgren, Yuzuru Hanyu, Reza Djaziri, Jack Morrissey, Jee-woon Kim, Nolan Thiessen and Troy Heilpap.
David Webb currently serves as a senior network correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in 1998 as a Los Angeles-based correspondent.