The 2026 Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame inductees have been announced, and it is headlined by a pair of curling icons. “From rinks to pools to courts and fields, this year’s inductees have elevated their sports and given back to the communities that shaped them. We’re proud to be adding their names to the Hall of Fame and can’t wait to celebrate their contributions,” said Evan Andrew, the president and CEO of Sport Manitoba, in a news release. The list starts with the late Don Duguid. The curler won the Canadian Brier three times and was a two-time world champion in the 1960s and 70s. Following his playing career, he jumped to the broadcast booth and helped revolutionize how the game is presented. He became the first person to mic up curlers during games, giving the fans at home an up-close and personal feeling for each contest. Duguid passed away last week on July 15 at the age of 90. His son, Terry Duguid, will accept the induction on his father’s behalf. Sticking on the pebbled ice, the 2005-2010 rendition of Team Jennifer Jones is being inducted for starting a “decades-long dynasty.” During that five-year stretch, the team was made up of Jennifer Jones, Jill Officer, Dawn McEwen, Cathy Overton-Clapham, Cathy Gauthier, Jennifer Clark-Rouire, Georgina Wheatcroft, and Trisha Eck. They were coached by Janet Arnott and Larry Jones. The team won the Canadian Women’s Curling Championship four times, the World Championship in 2008, and the World bronze in 2010. The team is also known for what has simply been called “The Shot,” which occurred during the final at the 2005 Scotties. Jones and company were down to their final shot against Ontario, needing to score to get the win. Jones banked their rock off an outside Ontario rock and then took out another Ontario rock sitting on the button to score four and win the tournament. It is considered one of the best curling shots in Canadian curling history. From the ice to the field, the next inductee represented Canada 60 times on the rugby pitch and was the 7s national team captain in 2011-12. Mandy Marchak started rugby in her Grade 12 year at Grand Park High School. She played three years with the Winnipeg Wanderers before joining the North Vancouver Capilano Rugby Football Club. Her career then took her to London to join the Saracens RFC. Marchak now coaches and mentors the next generation of rugby players in BC. The last athlete is Diane Pidskalny-Hrychuk, who amassed 134 medals in her athletic career. There wasn’t a sport that Pidskalny-Hrychuk couldn’t play. She participated in basketball, volleyball, table tennis, javelin, discus, shotput, track and curling. She was the flag bearer for Canada at the 1986 PanAm Games. Pidskalny-Hrychuk started playing wheelchair sports in 1966 after she lost her leg three years earlier due to cancer. Along with being a tremendous athlete, Pidskalny-Hrychuk served on multiple sports councils and associations until she retired in 2008. A pair of builders are also being inducted. Vlastimil Cerny has been coaching swimming for more than 30 years and is credited with revamping the sport in Manitoba. He has been the coach for the national team at four Olympic Games and is the longest-serving swim coach at the University of Manitoba. Lastly, Wayne McMahon is being recognized for his more than 50 years of coaching track and field athletes. In his early days, he earned a Canadian Junior Championship in the 3000-metre steeplechase and went to the Canada Games representing Manitoba. In his coaching career, McMahon has been named a Sport Manitoba Coach of the Year, won the Athletics Manitoba Coach of the Year four times and received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. The class will officially be inducted on Oct. 29, 2026.
