December 30/17 12:54 pm - Curt Harnett Inducted into Order of Canada

Posted by Editoress on 12/30/17
 

The end of year announcement for Order of Canada inductees included Curt Harnett in the Member category.  Harnett becomes the fourth cyclist to be inducted into the Order of Canada, joining Louis Garneau, Clara Hughes and Gordon Singleton.  There are three categories to the Order - Member, Officer and Companion. Harnett and Singleton are Members, while Hughes and Garneau are Officers.

We reached Curt by e-mail:  "We, as athletes, don't look to honours, awards and accolades as motivators.  What we look for is to be the best that we can be with the goal of being the best in our chosen field.  That's all I asked of myself and I found great joy in pushing myself to new heights, and that took me places. And while I already knew that I lived in a great country, one that provided me with the freedom and opportunity to pursue my dreams and ambitions, it was on that journey that I learned just how great Canada is and how lucky I am.  I wore the maple leaf with great pride and I feel that same pride today with this announcement.  It truly is an honour that has me humbled."

Curt won three Olympic medals (1 silver and 2 bronze) as well as setting a world record in the Flying 200m (first rider to go under 10 seconds).  He is also a member of the Cycling Canada Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.  At the 2016 Rio Olympics he was the Chef de Mission for Team Canada, as well as in 2015, when he was the Chef de Mission for the Pan Am Games in Toronto.


Congratulations Curt!

Curt with Brian Walton at 2016 Cycling Hall of Fame induction