Region produces world class athletes

Fort McMurray and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo have been home to many outstanding First Nations athletes.

But is there a No. 1? Who are the contenders?

The sport of boxing brought Wayne Bourque and Danny Lindstrom (Stonewalker).

Bourque, a Metis, with the nickname “The Flurry from Fort McMurray,” established himself as one of the premiere amateur boxers in Canada during the 1970s and early 1980s, winning three North American Native Boxing titles and four provincial and Golden Glove championships.

In 1983, Bourque placed third at the senior national championships in Sudbury, Ont., and then in 2009 at age 50, returned to the ring to win the Ringside World Championships Masters aged 45 to 55 years-of-age 178-pound weight class in Kansas City, Missouri.

Lindstrom, of Swedish-Cree Canadian heritage, is the only man ever to hold both the Canadian light heavyweight and heavyweight professional belts. He was also ranked as the No. 8 amateur light heavyweight in the world and fought in the Pan-Am Games.

In 1990 he fought Michael Moorer for the World Boxing Organization Light Heavyweight belt in Pittsburgh, losing out with an eight round TKO.

Without a doubt an athlete who had potential.

On the ice there was Danny Hodgson. He was named the 1985 Canadian Major Junior Hockey Player of the Year while leading the Prince Albert Raiders to a Memorial Cup. He was also captain of the Team Canada gold-medal winning team at the 1985 World Junior Championships in Finland.

Drafted 85th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, he played four years in the NHL for Toronto and then Vancouver Canucks before going on to an extensive 16-year career in Europe.

Playing for the Keyano College Huskies in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, Alwyn Piche, although not raised in the region, reached new heights as he was selected Canadian Colleges Athletic Association’s 2009 Male Volleyball Player of the Year.

And then there is the running machine named Jason Louttit.

He is world-ranked in three running disciplines: snowshoe, trail and mountain running. He is also a national calibre marathon runner and is showing national calibre talent in ultra-distance running.

Since his first race in 1999, this amazing Metis athlete has won countless events.

In the two-year period between 2008 and 2009, he won 20 major events be it snowshoe races, trail races, half marathons, marathons or various other distances.

He has represented Canada at World Championships in Ultra Trail Running and Mountain Running where he captured a silver medal at the 3rd IAU World Trail Championships held at Ireland’s Connemara National Park.

He has globe-trotted the world in search of the elusive run.

Winner of the Calgary Marathon four times, Loutitt has a personal best of 2:24.37 in the marathon distance. He has won back-to-back 100 mile runs in the Hawaiian HURT the last two years.

“He was just starting out then but you could tell that he was a solid athlete and he trained hard, I don’t think people realize the number of years it takes to mature as a runner of athlete,” said Canadian track and field coach legend Wayne McMahon, who saw Loutitt compete when a member with the University of Manitoba Bisons.

With his constant assault on the record book, Loutiit may qualify, as not only the greatest First Nations athlete from the region but perhaps the greatest multi-sport athlete ever to call Fort McMurray home.

Curtis J. Phillips has covered local sports within the Regional of Municipality of Wood Buffalo since 1982 in both print/electronic mediums and has received numerous national awards for his professional career and volunteerism in amateur sports.