A former world class track and field
athlete is one of the newest members of Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame.
Greely resident Joan Hendry was one of five
Ottawa residents to be selected on Wednesday, May 6, and said it was the
perfect way to end her career.
“The final chapter has been written of my
athletic career,” she said. “You can put the period there.”
Hendry, who turns 64 years old today (May
14), said she was thrilled to be inducted.
Hendry was a three-sport athlete,
participating in the long jump, 100 metre and 4 X 100 relay.
In the long jump event, she became the
first Canadian women to jump more than 20 feet, and was the Canadian long jump
champion in 1968. She also came in second three times and third once.
She participated in the 1968 Olympics and 1970
Commonwealth Games. At the Commonwealth Games, she won a bronze in the long
jump and another bronze in the 4 X 100 relay.
In the 100-metre run, she won two silver
medals and two bronze medals at the Canadian championships.
All this was on top of her full-time duties
as a teacher.
“I had to be extremely dedicated to put in
the number of hours to reach that level of expertise,” she said.
Looking back at her career, she said she
loved all of the sports equally, and has being listed as one of the four fastest
women in the world at one point as one of the highlights of her career.
After retiring from athletic competition,
she went on to coach track and field here in Ottawa
for a few years, and then in Germany
in the early 80s.
She retired from teaching in 1998, and
still runs.
“It’s sort of second nature to me now,” she
said. “I like to stay as healthy and fit as possible.”
Looking back at her career and her hall of
fame induction night, Hendry said it shows hard work and dedication can all
come to fruition.
“It’s just a wonderful, wonderful feeling
to be inducted,” she said. “It was a long-time coming.”