The word “champion” can mean different things, depending on context. Lesley Tashlin earned the title by virtue of her winning the 100-metre hurdlers at the 1995 Canadian Track & Field Championships. Now a new generation has championed a new campaign to recognize her, and her brother’s, career achievements.
The students at J. Douglas Hodgson Elementary School in Haliburton, Ont., are used to short trivia and facts with their morning announcements. On one occasion, those announcements touched on the athletic achievements of 1996 Olympic hurdler Lesley Tashlin and her younger brother, CFL defensive back Taly Williams. When the school’s Grade 7/8 French Immersion class were assigned to write a biography, one student chose the sporty siblings.
After researching their careers, the students could not believe that they hadn’t heard of two such accomplished local athletes and came up with a plan. They have started a campaign to have Tashlin and Williams represented with murals on the walls of the A.J. LaRue Arena in Haliburton, which already hosts murals of five other local sport stars.
“I’m naturally quiet, so this is a lot for me to take in,” said Tashlin. “At first, I was like ‘Go for it!’ and it has become so much more than I expected. The kids are great. If it was me, I might have given up the fight at the first sign of trouble, so their dedication is impressive.”
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