ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ's Sarah Ali-Khan wins Woman of Distinction award
Sarah Ali-Khan, a ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ University doctoral student in pharmacology and therapeutics, has won a Woman of Distinction award from the Montreal YWCA in the Sports & Wellness category.
She becomes only the third ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ athlete to win this award, which recognizes outstanding contributions by a woman to the field of sports, physical fitness, recreation or general fitness.
Ali-Khan, originally from Baie d'Urfé, Que., but raised in New Zealand, is the most decorated female athlete in ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ history.
From 1997 to 2003, she dominated the Quebec university circuit in both cross-country and track & field. She competed for Canada at the 2003 IAAF world cross-country championships in Lausanne and in 2004, became the first ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ-trained athlete to receive federal carding status from Athletics Canada.
Ali-Khan won an unprecedented total of three consecutive Gladys Bean trophies as the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ female athlete of the year from 1999-00 to 2001-02. (Only one male athlete has accomplished a comparable feat: Percival Molson, between 1898-99 and 1900-01.)
She entered postgraduate studies at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ in 1997 and went on to earn Academic All-Canadian honours five times for maintaining an academic average over 80 per cent. She was also a five-time honoree on the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Principal's student-athlete honour roll, accorded to students who earn a cumulative grade-point average over 3.5 on a scale of 4.0.
Ali-Khan earned CIS All-Canadian honours five times in track & field and four times in cross-country. She has won athlete-of-the-week awards 20 times at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ, 12 times at the QSSF conference level and four times at the CIS national level.
McGILL ATHLETES TO WIN PREVIOUS WOMAN OF DISTINCTION AWARDS
2000 — Julie Payette (athlete; cross-country)
2003 — Geraldine Dubrule (athlete, coach, official; synchro swimming)
2006 — Sarah Ali-Khan (athlete; cross-country, track & field)