SASKATOON — Olympic bronze-medal-winning diver Rylen Wiens and celebrated Paralympic swimmer Shelby Newkirk were named the Male and Female Athletes of the Year as aquatic sports came up big in the 40th Saskatchewan Sports Awards. They lead 12 of the province’s sports personalities honoured on Thursday night’s gala, Jan. 30, at Prairieland Park’s Hall B.
Newkirk won bronze in the women’s 100-metre backstroke S6 event in the 2024 Paris Paralympics and consecutive gold medals in the same event in the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. She set a world record in women’s 50m backstroke at the Citi Para Swimming World Championships with a time of 37.40 seconds, aside from the numerous Canadian records she broke in the short and long course events.
Kash Tarasoff and Mary Carroll made it 3-for-3 for Dive Sask with the Youth Male Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year trophies. Sheila Leach from rowing is one of three recipients of Inspire Through Sports. Wascana Canoe Racing Club, supported by Canoe/Kayak Saskatchewan, nominated Bob Kary as the Volunteer Dedication awardee and shared the honour with Blair Seifert (figure skating) of Skate Saskatchewan.
Special Olympian Lindsay Markwart and volleyball coach Tony Fineblanket were the other two honoured with the Inspire Through Sport award. Tennis Saskatchewan’s Denise Fernandez, Carla Nicholls of Saskatchewan Athletics, and Bowls Saskatchewan David Calam (lawn bowling) were feted with the Coach Dedication awards.
Olympic weightlifter Etta Love, nominated by the Saskatchewan Weightlifting Association, is the Youth Female Athlete of the Year. At the same time, the University of Saskatchewan’s Huskies Women’s 4X800-metre relay team is the Team of the Year.
Markwart, who received the Special Olympics Canada Athletic Community Excellence Award in November, told SaskToday that she’s pleased with her journey as an ambassador for Special Olympics since joining the program 20 years ago.
“It has been amazing, and I am truly happy. I have met a lot of people with whom I have become friends. I always try to have fun. Keep trying your best,” said Markwart, known for her friendly and joyful demeanour, especially when meeting new people.
Wiens, who competed in his second Olympics in Paris, where he and partner Nathan Zsombor-Murray earned bronze in the men’s synchronized 10-metre platform, said it was a great experience to win a medal in the Summer Games. However, he enjoys using his influence to share his story and inspire the kids.
“I've been doing lots of talks in schools, sharing my story, giving that inspiration and seeing their faces when I bring my Olympic medal or do a backflip on stage for them. It's one of the coolest things for me, and it's that giving back that makes sports so rewarding,” said Wiens, who won bronze in the individual men’s 10m platform in the 2020 Tokyo Olympiad and two silver medals in the 2022 Commonwealth Games
“I share how I started from a young age with a dream. And from that dream, I worked hard towards it. I share some of my ups and downs, injuries, setbacks, and strategies to work through that and get to the next level in sports. I try to make it relational so they can apply some of the strategies I use to their lives as they achieve their dreams and goals.”
Wiens, who keeps his bronze medal in a box and shares the joy it gave him with others, added that he did not expect to remain in diving, but his passion and love of the sport grew over the years, especially when his dream of competing in the Olympics was rekindled.
“When I was a kid, I wanted to reach the Olympics. Just from watching on TV, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. When I started diving, I don't know if I thought I would go diving, but pretty shortly, I started gaining traction, and my love for the sport grew. At some point within the first couple of years, I was like, yeah, I think this [the Olympics] is a possibility,” said Wiens.
“I think it's that open-mindedness to achieving things that have never been done before. No one had ever won a medal in a competition where my partner and I got a medal. Someone's got to be the first, and that's what I always think. Someone's got to be the first to do it. So that's what I want to share with everybody.”
