Alison Jean Herst

Alison Herst joined the North Bay Canoe Club at the age of 10 and before she retired had competed in two Olympics and eight World Championships and became an Automatic Member of the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame. She won 37 medals in Canadian Championships, 15 gold, 12 silver, and 10 bronze. Named to the Canadian Junior Team in 1989 when she had a sixth in the Junior World K-4, she was advanced to the National Team in 1990 where the 5’4″ dynamo remained for seven years. At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, she had a fifth in K-2 and a sixth in K-4 and in 1996 at Atlanta, Herst and the Canadian K-4 team took fifth place. She recorded 11 top 10 performances including gold and bronze medals in World Championships. The gold was in the 1995 200-metre K-4, and the bronze in the 1994 K-4. She also had three fourth place finishes. Before retiring she raced with the Italian National Team in 1998 and 1999. In her youth, Herst took part in track, cross country running and skiing at the NOSSA level, winning a cross country running event. She also played ringette, volleyball, soccer, softball and basketball.