Caitlin Kraemer wins K-W and area athlete of the year award
Hockey player Caitlin Kraemer is the 2023 Athlete of the Year for Kitchener-Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich.
She was recognized for her achievement during a Wednesday night ceremony at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
Kraemer, 18, led Canada to a gold-medal victory at last year’s IIHF U-18 women’s world hockey championship with a four-goal performance in the final game. Her final tally brought her total to 10 to set a record for most goals by a Canadian in a single tournament.
The Waterloo Ravens product, a soon-to-be Resurrection Catholic Secondary School graduate, will be on a hockey scholarship at the University of Minnesota Duluth later this year.
“There are such great nominations this year … so just to be awarded this award is a great shock but a huge honour and I’m glad I get to represent it,” said Kraemer.
Thirteen athletes were nominated for the award. The other 12 were Nic Hague (hockey), Jackie Dent (badminton), Blake Jacklin (baseball), Alex Klein (bobsleigh), Ethan Powell (cycling), Drew Becker (horseshoes), Dhane Smith (lacrosse), Kelly Rudney (long drive), Khashayar Farzam (powerlifting), Ben Flanagan (track and field), Foster Malleck (track and field) and Cory Schoenherr (volleyball).
Also Wednesday, Waterloo Region’s Sport Housing Office announced it would continue the award program, founded by John Thompson and Ken Brooks, despite previous plans to end it after the 25th anniversary.
“While the Sport Hosting Office primarily brings and supports the hosting of events in Waterloo Region, we also know that hosting high-calibre events helps to support local athletes through the development of better sport infrastructure, and by providing more opportunities for our athletes to compete at home,” said Sport Housing director Allister Scorgie. “It made sense for us to be a sponsor of the Athlete of the Year awards for the past two years. And now, we are pleased to announce that starting in 2025, the Sport Hosting Office will continue the tradition of hosting this event into the future.”
First handed out in 1999 to boxer Fitzroy Vanderpool, past winners include world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, Olympic swimmer Laura Nicholls, NHL players Scott Stevens and Mark Scheifele, volleyball star Sarah Pavan, NBA guard Jamal Murray and last year’s winner, para swimmer Alec Elliot.