Vincent De Haitre, who was named the Male Athlete of the Year, had an even better excuse – he was on his way to Korea for the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.
What the 23-year-old has already accomplished in speed skating is remarkable. Last year, he was named Speed Skating Canada’s Male Athlete of the Year in long track. A silver-medal performance in the 1000m at the ISU World Single Distance Championships was paired with a second-place finish at the World Cup final. De Haitre, already a two-time Olympian, also anchored Canada’s men’s sprint team to a new world record and a gold medal at the world championships.