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Kevin Sirois

An Olympian. An athlete. A record breaker.

Kevin Sirois was a rare breed. A man who had the drive and determination to commit to not only one sport – but, two.  He was a highly skilled and dedicated speed skater and cyclist and strived for excellence in both sports. Sirois was on his way to becoming one of the few Canadians to compete in both the Winter and Summer Olympics in the same year.

Sirois was born in Edmonton in 1949 and set over 20 Canadian speed skating records at both junior and senior levels, in races from 500m to five miles. He was the first recipient of the Canadian Amateur Speed Skating Association's Skater of the Year Award in 1968, named Red Deer's Athlete of the Year in both 1966 and 1971, and, received the City of Edmonton Award for his outstanding contribution to both community and sport.

At the age of 22, he competed at the 1971 Pan American Cycling Competition and toured Italy with the Canadian Cycling Team. At the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, he placed 14th in the 10,000m speed skating event and set a Canadian record that would not be broken until 1982. Sirois was training for a spot on the Canadian Olympic Cycling Team when in May of 1972, he was killed in a tragic cycling accident near Ponoka.

In 1972, following Sirois’ death, The Kevin Sirois Fitness Testing and Training Centre was established. The centre was a joint RDC, City of Red Deer and community venture that was built to honour the life of the extraordinary Canadian Olympic athlete who placed great value on physical activity and excellence in fitness. A community advisory board provided guidance to the Centre’s Director – an RDC Faculty specialist in sport science and health promotion. The community and government assisted in providing equipment for the new facility and the facility itself was provided by RDC. Physical Education and Sport area and staff were also provided by RDC.

Since its inception, the Centre has endeavored to provide information and expertise in fitness and lifestyle appraisals for all ages, sport-specific training programs for sport science testing and athlete program prescription, fitness classes and instructor training, resources and related services to central Alberta residents.

In 1996 Sirois was inducted into the Alberta Sport Hall of Fame and continues to influence the community through the Kevin Sirois Fitness Testing and Training Centre at RDC.