National Champion, Olympian, Pan American and Commonwealth Games medalist. These are all titles used to describe shot putter Tim Nedow. Wednesday night at the 67th Annual Ottawa Sport Awards, Nedow could add another – Ottawa’s Male Athlete of the Year.
The 6 foot 7 inch mammoth of a man became just the fourth Lion to receive the Athlete of the Year distinction, following in the footsteps of Melissa Bishop (2015), Jason Dunkerley (2004) and Glenroy Gilbert (1996). “It’s a pretty big deal. This is my first time at the awards show and after seeing all the great sports team and athletes here, it’s quite an honour,” said Nedow following the event.
The 2019 season was a special one for Nedow that included a new outdoor best and a ninth place finish at the World Championships in Doha. The Brockville native kicked the season off in style with a monstrous heave of 21.18 metres in late April. Unfortunately for Nedow the mark came a scant 11 days before the 2020 Olympic qualifying period. The season would follow with Nedow’s seventh straight Canadian title in the shot put and a fourth place finish at the Pan Am Games in Lima before he got ready for Doha.
In the Qatari capital, Nedow put forward his best performance yet in a global championship. First he popped the 16 pound steel ball out to 20.94 metres in his final effort in qualifying to secure a spot in the final. He would follow that up two days later with a 20.84 metre heave to finish ninth overall in the strongest competition in the event’s history.
“It’s nice to be recognized after having probably my best year so far, being Top 10 in the world,” explained Nedow. “It definitely gives me confidence and knowing Ottawa is supporting me turning into Tokyo 2020.”
To no one’s surprise, Nedow was also took home for top athlete in the sport of Athletics. He was one of four individual Lions who were also honoured. Kevin Robertson was recognized for his efforts in cross country running where he was a bronze medalist at the Canadian Under 20 Championships last fall. As well, club record holder Salome Nyirarukundo was recognized for her dominance of road races this past year, in particular the marathon where she ran 2:30:44. Finally, Joshua Cassidy was recognized as the Parasport winner following his triple gold performance at the Canadian Championships and his victory in the Los Angeles Marathon.
Also honoured last night were the follow five gold medal winning relay teams:
- Ontario Open Men’s 4x400m
- Canadian Open Men’s 4x100m
- Canadian Open Women’s 4x400m
- Canadian Open Men’s 4x400m
- Canadian U20 Women’s 4x400m