Canadian Olympic Canoe/Kayak Sprinter Mark de Jonge has been voted the winner of the Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award in a national online poll.
The winner is chosen by a public vote from a short-list of finalists selected by a committee representing Air Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee, athletes, the government, media and also last year’s Award winner.
“Air Canada extends its heartfelt congratulations to Canadian Mark de Jonge who has been chosen to receive the Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award for 2015. Being an Olympian requires ongoing commitment, hard work and competing constantly on the World Championship circuit. Through this award we are keeping the spotlight on Canada’s athletes and raising awareness of their years of dedication leading up to the Olympic Games where they compete for Canada,” said Craig Landry, vice-president of Marketing at Air Canada. “We take great pride in our association with all of our Canadian athletes and also congratulate Derek Drouin and Shawnacy Barber who were the runners-up for this award. We also thank the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who took time to vote for their favorite athlete in our national poll.”
de Jonge will receive two Business Class tickets to anywhere in the world Air Canada flies, as well as Super Elite 100K status in Air Canada’s Altitude program for one year.
Air Canada Athlete of the Year Award was presented last year to freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau, in 2013 to short track speed skater Charles Hamelin and in 2012 to soccer player Christine Sinclair.