Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies are co-winners of the 2020 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year.
The final vote of a panel of Canadian panel members was 18-18-1. It is the third tie in the history of the Lou Marsh Trophy. The last set of co-winners was in 1983 when Wayne Gretzky and Rick Hansen shared the award.
Duvernay-Tardif and Davies are the 82nd winners of the award. Other finalists this year included Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, along with Canadian soccer players Kadeisha Buchanan and Christine Sinclair.
Humbled to win the Lou Marsh Award with Alphonso Davies one of the greatest athletes Canada has ever produced, Duvernay-Tardif wrote on Twitter.
Duvernay-Tardif won Super Bowl LIV in February as the starting right guard for the Chiefs. The ongoing health pandemic broke out soon after, which brought the practicing medical doctor to the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.
The native of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que. opted out of the 2020 NFL season back in July to dedicate his time to his patients. His lab coat is currently on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif’s lab coat on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Davies became the first Canadian male to win the UEFA Champions League trophy with Bayern Munich as the Bavarians claimed the German top flight title and Deutsche Football League Supercup. He was named the Bundesliga’s Rookie of the Year and earned Canada Soccer’s men’s Player of the Year award.
This year has been a rollercoaster and I’m very happy to be able to share the Lou Marsh with another deserving winner Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Davies wrote on Twitter. It hasn’t been an easy year for many Canadians and we hope we were able to bring some happiness to you with our accomplishments this year.
The voting 2020 committee included: Laura Armstrong (Toronto Star); David Amber (Sportsnet/Hockey Night in Canada); Bruce Arthur (Toronto Star); Jeff Blair (Sportsnet); Rod Black (TSN); Stephen Brunt (Sportsnet); Caroline Cameron (Sportsnet); Mike Cormack (The Athletic); Rosie DiManno (Toronto Star); James Duthie (TSN); Sean Fitz-Gerald (The Athletic); Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet/Hockey Night in Canada); Kerry Gillespie (Toronto Star); Kayla Grey (TSN); Vicki Hall; Dave Hodge; Mike Koreen (Canadian Press); Karin Larsen (CBC/Vancouver); Rob Leth (Global); Scott MacArthur (FAN 590 Radio); Arash Madani (Sportsnet); Ian Mendes (TSN Radio); Dave Naylor (TSN); Evanka Osmak (Sportsnet); Scott Russell (CBC); Kristina Rutherford (sportsnet.ca); Diane Sauve (Radio Canada); Steve Simmons (Toronto Sun); Harnarayan Singh (Hockey Night in Canada/Punjabi); Tara Slone (Sportsnet); Scott Stinson (National Post); Dan Toman (Yahoo Sports Canada); Rob Vanstone (Regina Leader-Post); Kara Wagland (TSN); Dave Washburn (Toronto Star); Brian Williams (TSN); Damien Cox (Executive director, Lou Marsh voting committee).
Positive banned substance test removes Bombers’ Andrew Harris from Lou Marsh Award contention
Previous football players who have won the award include Jon Cornish (2013), Russ Jackson (1969), Bob McFarlane (1950), and Joe Krol (1946).
