Bradford's Monique Shah has been named Special Olympics Athlete of the Year.
Bradford West Gwillimbury recently council honoured the athlete who was inducted into the Toronto Sport Hall of Honour earlier this month.
“She’s a role model to many. We’re all proud of you. I’m very proud that you’re a resident of Bradford,” Councillor Raj Sandhu told her during an April 16 council meeting.
“One thing I think we do really well in this town is we recognize people when they do great things … not only for Bradford, I think it’s for Canada.”
Shah has competed primarily in track and field, but also in snowshoeing, curling and bowling.
At the 2010 Special Olympics, she placed first in the 200-metre race, high jump and four-by-100-metre relay.
In 2011, she achieved first in the 100 and 200-metre races at the Special Olympics in Athens, Greece.
During the 2017-18 season, Shah was first in the 100-metre, 200-metre and high-jump competitions at the Special Olympics Ontario Track and Field Meet, and first in the 100-metre at the Natalie Pooran Memorial Meet in Toronto.
Shah was also Motionball’s honorary ambassador in 2017, and she was Bradford Valley Care Community’s Volunteer of the Year in 2018 for her 10 years of service.
“This young lady has committed her life to community, has committed her life to sport,” said South Simcoe Police Chief Andrew Fletcher, who met Shah three years ago at a Special Olympics torch run.
“She’s so proud of what she’s done, and she’s so proud of this community. I can’t think of a greater ambassador,” he said.
