Olympic silver medallist and former Yorkton resident Jason Parker can now add one more credential to his already impressive resume, as he was one of the newest inductees into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (located in Regina) back on June 13, 2015.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just such a truly, amazing honour to be inducted,鈥� Parker told Yorkton This Week via phone interview. 鈥淚 was going through all the previous inductees and I鈥檓 a huge Roughrider fan, so to see names like George Reed and Ron Lancaster and people like that there鈥� it鈥檚 just awesome to be included in that company.
鈥淎nd another speed skater, Catriona Lemay Doan, was obviously previously inducted too, and she鈥檚 been a long-time friend of mine so it鈥檚 just been really, really cool to be inducted and join her in the Hall too.鈥�
Parker鈥檚 nomination and eventual induction comes due to a very successful speed skating career that has seen the Yorkton native compete in 65 World Cups, 10 World Championships and one Winter Olympics.
In total Parker, now 40, has raced in over 130 international races winning several medals including an Olympic silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, as a member of the Canadian Men鈥檚 Team Pursuit squad.
That Olympic medal, Parker says, is the number one most impressive accomplishment in his entire athletic career; however being inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame is also one of the most important parts as well. 鈥淭his is definitely right up there pretty close. It鈥檚 definitely up there with my World Championship medals,鈥� offered Parker, continuing, 鈥淥bviously the Olympics was the pinnacle and the one that I was waiting for for the longest time and the biggest one, but this isn鈥檛 too far off.
鈥淚t was a lot of work, 20 years of work and 12 years on the national team and it鈥檚 just so nice to be recognized by my province鈥� and I鈥檓 very proud to be from Yorkton, Saskatchewan.鈥�
Now retired from competitive speed skating, Parker is a motivational speaker and soon-to-be author of his book, tentatively titled 鈥榊our Olympian Within 鈥� Three Keys to Unlocking Your Best Life鈥�. To pre-order the book, please visit the website jasonparkerspeaks.com.
