March 25, 2007 (Montreal, QC) – A contest running in the Montreal-based daily, la Presse, asks readers to name the athlete who made the biggest impression in his or her sport over the past 30 years as well as the biggest impression on the collective memory of the general population over that time. Readers are asked to submit their “Top 3” selections.

La Presse olumnist Pierre Foglia apparently set things in motion when writing about biathlete Myriam Bedard, whom he described as “one of the five best athletes of the past 30 years.”

There might be some bias in Foglia’s eyes, as he has already written: “I would name Myriam Bedard and Pierre Harvey. For thousands of athletes, like myself, Pierre Harvey (who competed in both cycling and cross-country skiing in the 1984 Olympics) is the ultimate athletic reference…it is not Guy Lafleur (former professional hockey player with the Canadiens) nor Jacques Villeneuve (a former race car driver). “

Lafleur and Villeneuve nonetheless are on the list of 30 candidates that includes other hockey players (Raymond Bourque, Mario Lemieux) and race car drivers (Jacque’s father, Gilles Villeneuve) and para-athletes (André Viger). Apparently all of the athletes are Quebecers although Clara Hughes is “a Quebecer by adoption.” Hughes is a very rare athlete to have won Olympic medals in two disciplines (bronze in cycling in 1996 and gold in speed skating in 2006). Harvey and Hughes are the only two cyclists nominated.

The contest begins March 24 and ends March 29 – the winning athlete will be revealed in la Presse
on March 31st.

The contest is open to residents of Canada 18 years and older and a gift certificate of $1,000 to the Sports Experts chain of stores is offered as a prize. Other contest details are listed on the website, in French only. For more information, go to:

http://concours.cyberpresse.ca/index.php