GSP wins Canadian Athlete of the Year, again
The people have spoken and, as he was in 2008, UFC star Georges St-Pierre is their champion. After a week…
The people have spoken and, as he was in 2008, UFC star Georges St-Pierre is their champion.
After a week of voting, the Montreal-based welterweight champion received more than 60 per cent of readers’ votes to beat out Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby for Sportsnet’s Canadian Athlete of the Year.
“Thanks to Sportsnet, all the fans. It’s an honour to win the award two years in a row,” St-Pierre told Sportsnet on Monday. “Congratulations to Sidney Crosby, it is a great honour to be nominated with him. Crosby is a great hockey player and in a country where hockey is king it says a lot about the growth of MMA for me to win this award again.”
St-Pierre was also selected by sportsnet.ca readers for the honour in 2008. Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain who won his first Cup this past spring, was Sportsnet’s Canadian Athlete of the Year in 2007.
St-Pierre’s repeat duplicates the feat of Phoenix Sun’s guard Steve Nash, who won it in 2005 and 2006.
While St-Pierre has performed in the octogon, he has also had an impact outside it, particularly in bringing the sport to the mainstream. His appeal has led to endorsement deals with both Gatorade and Under Armour, and he is represented by the Hollywood-based Creative Artists’ Agency.