Two Richmond born and raised athletes will be inducted into the BC Hall of Fame in 2025.
Former rugby-player Nathan Hirayama and para-swimmer Walter Wu will be recognized in the hall of fame in May for their extraordinary achievements in sports and for inspiring younger generations, according to the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
Other inductees in 2025 will include Christine Sinclair, Ray Ferraro and the 2000 BC Lions team, according to an Oct. 16 release.
Hirayama is one of Canada’s greatest rugby sevens players of all time. He retired in 2021 after ranking third-highest scorer in World Rugby Sevens history with 1,859 career points at that time – he also ranked 15 all-time in World Rugby Sevens with 147 tries.
From 2006 to 2021, Hirayama was team Canada’s all-time leader in scoring and with 363 match appearances. He received the World Rugby Sevens overall scoring title for 2018.
Some of his career highlights include leading and being named Player of the Final for Canada’s only World Rugby Sevens Series Cup Final held in Singapore in 2017, winning two Pan American Games gold medals in 2011 and 2015, and a silver medal in 2019.
Hirayama also played in Canada’s XV rugby team from 2008 to 2015 and accumulated 23 international appearances, scoring 47 points and participating at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
He was the Canadian Olympic team flag bearer for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, co-captaining the sevens team to the quarter-finals.
Walter Wu, visually impaired since birth, is one of Canada’s most awarded Paralympic athletes, winning eight gold, four silver and two bronze Paralympic medals in swimming, ranking sixth Canadian Paralympic athlete of all time.
Wu represented Canada at the Paralympic Games in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
He also participated in two International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships in Malta 1994 and Argentina 2002, winning seven gold and one silver career world championship medals.
Even though Wu's been retired for 20 years, he still holds three national records.
Honouring the past and inspiring the future is the mission of the BC Hall of Fame, according to chair Tom Mayenknecht.
“This year’s honourees truly exemplify the best of sport in this province and beyond,” he stated in a press release.
Induction into the hall of fame is the highest sporting honour in British Columbia. They've inducted 452 individuals and 69 teams to its Hall of Champions since 1966.
The gala for the class of 2025 is scheduled for May.
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