Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke looks on during a news conference at the Winter X Games, in Aspen, Colo., Jan.21, 2009. Freestyle skiing pioneer Sarah Burke, who died after a training accident in 2012, is one of eight new members of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP - Nathan Bilow
April 23, 2014 - 12:22 PM
TORONTO - Freestyle skiing pioneer Sarah Burke, who died after a training accident in 2012, is one of eight new members of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
Burke was a world champion and four-time X Games gold medallist in women's ski halfpipe, a sport she championed to be included at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Burke, who spent her early years in Barrie, Ont., before moving to Squamish, B.C., was the first woman to land a 720-, 900- and 1080-degree rotation jump in competition.
She died Jan. 19, 2012, at the age of 29 after suffering an accident while training in Utah.
Other members of the Hall's class of 2014 include ski jumper Horst Bulau, cross-country skier Pierre Harvey, hockey player Geraldine Heaney, figure skater Elizabeth Manley and rugby player Gareth Rees.
Wheelchair basketball pioneer Tim Frick and basketball coach Kathy Shields will be inducted in the builder category.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014