Charles Hamelin voted AC Athlete of the Year

Air Canada has announced Canadian short track speed skater Charles Hamelin has been voted the winner of the Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award in a national online poll. “Air Canada is very pleased that Charles has been chosen to receive the Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award for 2013. He exemplifies the leadership, dedication and commitment to excellence the award celebrates and it is clear Canadians recognize his hard work and talent,” said Craig Landry, vice-president of Marketing at Air Canada. “As a sponsor of the Canadian Olympic Team, we take great pride in our association with all of our Olympic athletes and also congratulate slopestyle snowboarder Mark McMorris and bobsledder Kaillie Humphries who were the runners-up for this award. Additionally, we thank the tens of thousands of Canadians who took time to vote for their favorite athlete in our national poll.” Hamelin was a double gold medalist at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Based on his experience and accomplishments, he is considered one of the leaders of the national team.

Nominees for the Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award were chosen after an in-depth analysis of a lengthy list of winter sport athletes by a nomination committee. The list of more than 50 athletes was arrived at by assigning point values to podium finishes in the previous year’s competition season. These athletes were then considered and debated by the nomination committee with three finalists selected to be voted on by Canadians between Nov. 20 and Dec. 6. The nominating committee consisted of representatives from Air Canada, the CBC, the Federal Government, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the athlete community and last year’s winner, soccer player Christine Sinclair. The winner receives two complimentary Business Class tickets to anywhere in the world Air Canada flies as well as Altitude Super Elite status for one year. www.aircanada.com