By Ottawa Sports Pages
Smack dab in the middle of his Ottawa at the Olympics coverage, Ottawa Sports Pages High Achievers columnist Martin Cleary has won a competition of his own.
On the evening of Feb. 12 at a gala in Toronto, the 17th-annual Canadian Online Publishing Awards chose Cleary’s article on Wendy Alexis’ experience at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Florida as the Best Patriotic Story of 2025 for media.
“I’m shocked. I never expected this honour,” Cleary shared. “The other four entries also were strong and worthy candidates in the category.”
Cleary’s story was a patriotic story in the sense that Alexis won gold medals for Canada and set world records on U.S. soil, but it was about much more than that. It was about how the best Canadian character traits – humility, compassion and friendliness – triumphed over division.
The article came out just as the country was getting its most amped up about the first assault of tariffs and astounding White House actions. It was a time when many victorious athletes might have turned to chest-pumping and waving the flag as a weapon of sorts, but Alexis was instead kind and generous, offering little Canadian flags to the women who joined her on the podium, which brought them to tears.
In turn, she received great warmth and affection from her American hosts. Event organizers in Florida were nervous no one would show up to the championships because of their president’s actions – and this story did highlight the conflicted feelings Alexis had about attending an event in the U.S. – but she met Americans who were welcoming and sympathetic to others outside of their own country, and they connected by focusing on what they shared in common instead of what might divide them.
Sport can most definitely stoke rivalries, but it can also be a force to unite, and Cleary illustrated a little-known story of positive Canada-U.S. relations when so many other headlines were negative.
“Wendy Alexis deserves a major thanks for being so open and honest about telling her story and sharing how her American counterparts and friends felt about the changing political climate between our two countries. Masters track and field has a way of bringing our two nations together,” Cleary added.
“Thank you also to the organizers of the Canadian Online Publishing Awards for recognizing the hard work of journalists and writers throughout our country. Whether in the academic, business, consumer or media categories, these stories are extremely important for the development of our country and keeping our citizens informed.”
Alexis’s performances were certainly a great source of national pride as well. Crowned best in the world multiple times, the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club sprinter is an inspirational figure who shows it’s possible to pursue world-class competitive sport into your 70s. And Alexis is not only best in the world, but also the best ever, having set world-record times for her age group in the most celebrated sprint events.
Cleary’s article could have stuck to the sports accomplishment and avoided the political noise, but on top of capturing this exceptional sports feat, the veteran scribe captured a greater story beyond the field of play, showcasing why Canada truly is the best.
“Congratulations Martin on this well-deserved honour and for continuing to set such an inspiring standard of dedication and excellence in Canadian sportswriting,” saluted Ottawa Sports Pages executive director Dan Plouffe. “And happy anniversary too! This year makes 50 years since Martin covered his first Olympics in 1976, so what better way could there be to mark a golden anniversary than with a gold medal?”
The Ottawa Sports Pages was also a finalist for Feel Good Story of the year for Plouffe’s article on how soccer provided a “bridge to a new life” for four refugee families who never knew each other in Ukraine but all ended up with boys on the same U12 soccer team with the Ottawa South United Force. Radio-Canada took top prize in that category among fellow finalists The Narwhal, Toronto Today and the Toronto Star.
Last year, the Ottawa Sports Pages received a COPA silver award for Best Continuing Coverage of a Story for its Paris 2024 Ottawa at the Paralympics series.