Three local athletes are among the finalists for Sport BC’s Athete of the Year Awards.
Michelle Kim and Christobel Nettey of Surrey, and North Delta’s Michael Milic are one of three finalists in their respective award categories.
The awards ceremony will be on Thursday, March 10 in Vancouver.
Kim, a golfer currently attending the University of Idaho, is a finalist for the Female Junior Athlete of the Year award.
In the 2015 season, Kim won the CJGA Western Canadian Junior Championship in March at Surrey’s Northview Golf and Country Club and also won the Canadian Junior Championship in Yorkton, Saskatchewan in August. She also became the first golfer from British Columbia to receive the Canadian Junior Golf Association’s (CJGA) Helena Harbridge Sportsmanship Award, which recognizes sportsmanship, dedication and commitment.
“I’ve always had big goals and dreams for golf,” Kim said. “This game requires commitment and dedication, and golf has taught me both of those things.”
Also nominated for the Female Junior Athlete of the Year award are Emily Overholt of West Vancouver (swimming) and Raquel Tjernagel of New Westminster (athletics).
Milic, along with Markus Thormeyer of Tsawassen (swimming) and Khyber Barnett of Vancouver (karate), is a finalist in the Male Junior Athlete of the Year category.
Milic won the gold medal in the Junior Elite category at the Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon in Kelowna, and won a silver medal in the individual men’s triathlon at the Western Canada Summer Games. He was also third at the Bare Bones Duathlon in Penticton in May, and placed sixth at the B.C. high School Cross-Country Championships.
Christabel Nettey is a finalist for the Female Senior Athlete of the Year award, as is Sophie Schmidt of Vancouver (soccer) and Kim Gaucher of Mission (basketball).
Nettey, a graduate of Johnston Heights Secondary, won the gold medal in the long jump at the Pan American Games in Toronto and placed fourth in the same event at the World Championships in Beijing, China. The fourth-place finish was the best ever by a Canadian long jumper at a world championship event.
