LeasideLife issue 23 final rev_LeasideLifev1 13-11-20 10:31 AM Page 1
No. 23 • December 2013
Leaside Life leasidelifenews.com
Leaside100 1913-2013
LEASIDE SPOR SPORTS TS HALL off F FAME AME
ALLAN WILLIAMS
Leaside’s first ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
She's playing hookey for hockey in New Zealand Page 3
Almost paralysed, he's now winning top awards Page 21
Martha McCabe, swimmer By ALLAN WILLIAMS Bennington Heights-raised swimmer Martha McCabe has been named Leaside’s first annual Athlete of the Year by the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame Committee. A world championship medal winner who is aiming for the Olympics in Rio in 2016, she is a former Leaside High School student who credits her track coach at Leaside High, Dave Christiani, as one of her most important influences. “He had a big part in making me the athlete I am. He let us decide for ourselves whether we were serious
about doing the necessary training. I always knew I wanted to succeed but Dave Christiani helped me realise I had to take responsibility for my own training. It was great to learn that discipline while young.” She wasn’t involved in only track and swimming. “I played hockey with Leaside Girls, soccer, running cross-country, and track and field. It was important to be an all-round athlete and not just limited to one sport. “I was swimming six times a week, but I was also running six times a week and playing hockey. MARTHA, Page 4