Fan favourite: Burnaby's Christine Sinclair, right, was named Canada's 2012 athlete of the year in two separate polls this week.
Photograph by: File photo Stephen Brashear , CANADA SOCCER
Canadian sports fans chose Christine Sinclair of Burnaby as Canada's 2012 athlete of the year in a CBCSports.ca poll released Saturday.
Sinclair outpolled current world champion figure skater Patrick Chan, 2012 Giro d'Italia champion cyclist Ryder Hesjedal, world champion bobsleigh driver Kaillie Humphries, Olympic gold medallist, trampolin-ist Rosie MacLennan and world ice dance champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in the week-long contest.
On Monday, Sinclair picked up a second athlete of the year award, winning the Lou Marsh Award.
The 29-year-old national team striker beat speedskater Christine Nesbitt, MacLennan, Chan, Hesjedal and Calgary Stampeders running back Jon Cornish for the award that is named after a Toronto Star sports editor. Chan won the Marsh award last year.
Sinclair was the captain of Canada's women's soccer team at the London Olympics that made history by becoming the first national team to win a medal at the Summer Games since 1936. Her six goals led the tournament, which included all three counters in a devastating 4-3 extra-time loss to the United States in the semifinals.
Sinclair, who is the national team's all-time leading scorers with 143 goals, was honoured as the country's flag bearer at the conclusion of the Games.
