The Taegukgi
Soo Myeon Kim wins the Duquez, Park the Wiechkowski Crown
Marian Sonier
QUEBEC CITY, CAPITALE-NATIONALE- Men's hockey star Soo Myeon Kim and Women's fencing sensation Isabelle Park was named the winner of the 2020 Leonard Duquez and Dana Wiechkowski Award on Friday.
People's Pick
In what was a very close choice in both runnings, Kim and Park were selected as the Quebecois Men's and Women's athlete of the year by QBCSports.que readers in the People's Pick poll, as the Friday Sports Night host and former Koreana volleyball legend Cam Wilson announced last Friday night.
231,880 votes were casted for Duquez Award, with Kim receiving 70,500 votes, marathoner Terry Shiner-Snowsnake receiving 58,230 votes and handballer Kyeong Shin Park rounding out the top three with 48,150. For Wiechkowski Award, 235,819 votes were casted, with considerably more challenging race: Park's 61,547 votes were closely followed by volleyballer Naloe Miro's 57,793 votes and hockey star Daria Nedalekova 52,311 votes.
Both athletes, though on sports far different from each other, were otherworldly in their international and domestic achievements. The 31-year old Kim led the Attawapiskat Avalanche to the Prenneau Cup, scoring 59 goals and 148 points in regular season to break 5 records to win 4 QHL awards. The smooth-skating, jack-of-all-trades centreman is currently leading the league in scoring and tops the scoring for the Avalanche with 39 goals and 92 points in 58 games this season.
The 24-year old Park, meanwhile, won 2 fencing gold medals in last year's olympics held in Nassau Bay and Centralis, Rushmore, where she stormed to assert Quebecois dominance of sabre in international stage. The Halifax, Acadie, native had 7 (3 individual, 4 team) QIS championship medals, 3 NCC (Northern Calanian Cups) titles and 2 commonwealth championship titles for Quebec.
"It is a pure surprise and a joy," Park said on a telephone call following the announcement. "I can't believe, first of all, the year me and my teammates had. And to have this last in an award, it's incredible, as your recipient of the Wiechkowski Award."
The honours - decided by a panel of national sports editors, reporters and broadcasters - are given annually to Quebec's most outstanding male and female athlete by the Taegukgui.
Other finalists for the Duquez and Wiechkowski Awards were Pulkkinen brothers (Weightlifting), Trenton Hyun (Gridiron Football), Zachary Fortin (Association Football), Deborah Gervais-Chouinard (Figure Skating), Carla Valladares (Wrestling) and Hazel Van Robben (Association Football).
Isabelle Park was one of 6 Quebecois flag-bearers at the closing ceremonies in Nassau Bay, with Miro and K.S. Park among her partners for the final lap. According to the Royal Quebecois Athletic Association, this was the toughest vote being done for its 58-year history.
Credit to the coaches
Like usual, the award-winning athletes made their praises and credits towards their coaches. Both Park and Kim said their coaches deserves plenty of credit and congratulations.
"I would like to give the strongest of my thanks to Coach [Guy Aronnax] for my time here," he said. "He had me keep on working for improving and motivating my game so I can keep on top of the track. Everyday we learn new things with him on practice and games and for that I'm grateful to be playing for the Avalanche."
"I'd like to thank both Jorge Morattan and William Yi for years I've spent under their tutelage," she said. "I can only thank them more and more for the success I've achieved, because they were really there for me to achieve success and land me where I am right now."
Testimonials
"Kim's what we would now consider as a superstar. Dynamic, talented and tough, Kim's one of few athletes who truly captivated a newer generation of hockey players and his passion and class really brought the country to deserving praise of him. He, long down the road, could be considered one of the best Quebecois to ever have played the game." - Mario Dutoit-Chang, Journalist with Gaspe Prospector -
"Isabelle Park's the guiding light and pioneer of women's sabre in Quebec for last few years. Sabre is still not a common branch of fencing taken up by women, and that's mostly because there hasn't been that many stars out there to really motivate the girls to take up Sabre instead of Fleuret or Epee. With her gold medal victory and Irina Scherban's rise to the top of the crop, hopefully we'll see the rise of women's Sabre in Quebec." - Ion Ionescu, Secretary of Royal Quebec Fencing Federation."
"The transition of the game-defining superstars has not gone the smoothest way in last few years and Kim's really the remedy they were able to find. The surprising thing with it is that Kim's been able to sustain his achievements and even improve his game even as his career enters into 30s. A true successor to Hindmarsh Yoon's finally found." - Jean-Andre Martinsen, Attawapiskat Star -
Kim's 512 domestic goals is currently 2nd all-time behind Colm Strojovic (579) and puts him on a pace to be 2nd all time in history (assuming he retires in 10 years' time), right behind the legendary Hindmarsh Yoon who's currently leading the list with.
With the Quebecois National Team on semifinals of this World Cup of Hockey, he may finally have a chance to go for the MVP award that has long eluded him in the international level; Lucien Ryu was awarded the MVP back in the glorious edition of World Cup of Hockey 26 that had the Ice Knights overcome a 0-2 deficit to win it in final game of the tournament.
Gridironer Sid Eikman and handballer Elisabeth "Ellie" Tanguay took the honours last year.
The awards are named after the historic duo of Taegukgi-to-QBC broadcasters who has served both organisations for record 44 years as partners (Duquez: 1912-1948; Wiechkowski: 1917-1956).
Semifinals, Game 1 Cutoff
Tonight the final four begins, and everybody's screaming out yeah, yeah, yeah!