Alphonso Davies, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif named the co-winners of the Lou Marsh Trophy Canada’s Athlete of the Year

Like everything in 2020, the debate over which Canadian would get away with the Lou Marsh Trophy for being named Athlete of the Year was one of a kind.

And in the end it was the winners too.

20-year-old Alphonso Davies, the wing of Bayern Munich and the Canadian men’s team, and 29-year-old Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, the Super Bowl champion who skipped the 2020 NFL season to continue on the front lines of COVID work. 19 pandemic, co-winners of the annual trophy were announced Tuesday.

Each received 18 first place votes from a jury of 37 sports journalists from across the country. Denver Nuggets security guard Jamal Murray, Olympique Lyonnais defender Kadeisha Buchanan, and Portland Thorns forward Christine Sinclair rounded out the top five.

It’s only the third draw since 1936 and the first since hockey star Wayne Gretzky and wheelchair racer and activist Rick Hansen, who shared the award in 1983.

When a debate raged on social media about the rare draw, the two athletes in question shared mutual respect.

“This year has been a roller coaster ride and I’m really excited to share the Lou Marsh with another well-deserved winner,” Davies wrote on Twitter. “It has not been an easy year for many Canadians (and) we hope that we have brought you some luck with our performances this year.”

Duvernay-Tardif repaid the compliment in kind. “Humble to win the Lou Marsh Award with one of the greatest athletes Canada has ever produced,” he wrote.

The case for Davies was rooted in his success in the field in a year that earned him a reputation for being one of the best left-backs in the world. He helped Bayern Munich win five trophies this season and became the first male Canadian international to win a UEFA Champions League trophy. There were also individual awards – he won the Bundesliga rookie award, posted the fastest time on the field, was nominated for the season’s Champions League squad, and was named Canadian Player of the Year for the second time in three years.

The drive behind Durvernay-Tardif’s fall was his actions on the field. In a year like no other, athletes struggled to make their voices and actions heard, on racial and social justice, politics, mental and physical health, and more.

The Montrealer, an offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs, passed the current NFL season on to help Canada’s fight against the global coronavirus pandemic. The McGill University medical school graduate has deferred a $ 2.75 million salary to spend the season online at Harvard while continuing to work as an orderly at a long-term care facility in Quebec where he has been a regular since the COVID is. 19 outbreak.

While excellence and achievement are the primary criteria for selecting a Lou Marsh winner, other factors such as integrity, good character, and contribution to the community may also be considered by voters. Duvernay-Tardif fitted this bill perfectly.

“As athletes, we have the power to make a positive impact on our society,” Duvernay-Tardif tweeted Sunday after being one of five activist-athletes named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. “To be recognized by one of the biggest sports awards for my commitment outside the field means everything to me.”

It’s not as if Duvernay-Tardif isn’t freaking out. While he may have only played three games for the Chiefs this calendar year in one of the sport’s least glamorous roles – his job is to protect the quarterback – he joined a short list of Canadians with a Super Bowl ring .

Likewise, Davies’ influence was not limited to the field. The product of Edmonton, who was born in a refugee camp in Ghana and moved to Canada at the age of five, became a supporter of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees this year by sharing its wide reach on social media channels and its public Profil used awareness raising and funds, including COVID-19 aid funds.

“Canada has welcomed me and my family and I am grateful for the opportunity to realize my dream of being a professional soccer player and representing Canada on the world stage,” Davies said in a statement following Tuesday’s vote.