2018-01-30 Tue

Weeks before the cauldrons are lit for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in South Korea, Canada Post lifted the veil on stamps that acknowledge some of the most accomplished athletes Canada has known, including Gaudet, the most decorated wheelchair curler in the world. Gaudet has three Paralympic gold medals and three world wheelchair curling championships.

The Women in Winter Sports stamp issue commemorates six remarkable athletes in five beautiful stamps: Gaudet; Sharon and Shirley Firth (cross-country skiing); Danielle Goyette (hockey); Nancy Greene (alpine skiing); and Clara Hughes (cycling and speed skating).

Gaudet, a member of the Okanagan Sports and Canadian Curling Halls of Fame, is a tireless advocate for accessibility, and an ambassador with the Rick Hansen Foundation and the Paralympic Committee.

The stars were honoured at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in Canada Olympic Park. The Shirley Firth, who passed away at the age of 59, was represented by her husband, Jan Larsson, and daughters Marie and Nina Larsson.

Designed by Roy White, Matthew Clark and Jacquie Shaw of Subplot Design Inc. of Vancouver, the stamps marry candid photos with action shots of the athletes. The stamps and all related products are available at retail outlets and online at canadapost.ca.

Sharon and Shirley Firth transformed Inuvik into a hotbed of Nordic skiing. They competed in four Olympic Games and four World Ski Championships, and dominated their sport from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, winning 79 medals at the national championships, including 48 national titles.

Goyette scored more than 100 career goals and dominated women’s hockey in her 40s. She won two Olympic gold medals and a silver, as well as eight gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championships. She was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

It was because of Greene that Canada is there on the map in alpine skiing. She competed at Squaw Valley in 1960, Innsbruck in 1964 and Grenoble in 1968, winning gold and silver medals. Canada’s Female Athlete of the 20th Century, Greene won 17 Canadian titles, 13 World Cup victories, and three U.S. Ski Championships.

Hughes is the only athlete in history to win multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. She made six Olympic appearances, winning six medals: one gold, one silver and four bronze in cycling and speed skating.