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BRUCE KIDD AWARD
for Athlete Leadership
Nicolas Gill - Judo
Nominated by Judo Canada
Twenty-two years after taking up judo, Nicolas Gill is Canada's most successful judoka. In 1992, the Montrealer won Olympic bronze in - 86 kg. Eight years later at the 2000 Olympic Games, he topped that performance to win the -100 kg silver medal, forever putting behind him his disappointing seventh-place finish in 1996 at Atlanta. In the months prior to Sydney, the physical activity and administration student won two important tournaments and was the bronze medallist at two others. At the Games, he closed in on a medal with three solid victories before coming up against world champion Kosei Inoue of Japan in the final. With the close-fought match tied at 1-1, Inoue made a trademark lightning-quick move to flip Gill with a match-ending Ippon.
Canada's 1992 Junior Male Athlete of the Year also has one silver and two bronze world championships medals and two Pan American Games gold medals. He has now earned more Olympic and world championship medals than all judokans previously representing Canada combined.
Gill, who wrapped himself in a Canadian flag after accepting his silver medal, believes in doing more for his sport than win medals. He serves as athlete representative on Judo Canada's technical committee, is a member of the board of directors of the Fondation Sport-Etudes, and works with the Fondation Paul Gérein-Lajoie to promote education in poor countries. He enjoys telling school children about the joys of judo, and after Sydney he visited schools in Québec, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, and New Brunswick. Gill, who is Montreal's athlete of the year and Québec's male athlete of the year, is also a regular participant in judo seminars at clubs across the country.
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