Corner Brook resident Jackie Barrett, a Special Olympics powerlifter, was one of six athletes selected for Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Wednesday.
Born in Halifax, Barrett moved to Corner Brook in 2008.
Seven athletes and four builders were chosen this year for Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, in its 65th anniversary year. They were selected from over 260 public nominations, and by a committee comprised of sports broadcasters, writers, academics and athletes.
Other inductees are athletes Sonja Gaudet (wheelchair curling), Diane Jones Konihowski (athletics), Lorie Kane (golf), Eric Lamaze and Hickstead (equestrian - show jumping), Steve Nash (basketball), Duncan Campbell (wheelchair rugby), and builders Sheldon Kennedy (ice hockey), Judy Kent (sport administration), Willie O’Ree (ice hockey) and Ross Powless (lacrosse).
Born with autism, Barrett enjoyed a Special Olympics career spanning 28 years, 20 of them as a powerlifter. Already a talented swimmer, he began lifting weights while he was in high school, and continued to hit the gym while earning a commerce degree from Saint Mary's University in Halifax.
After moving to Corner Brook, Barrett first participated in Special Olympics as a swimmer in 1987 before switching to powerlifting in 1995.
Dubbing himself the “Newfoundland Moose,” he went on to capture 20 powerlifting gold medals over five appearances at the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games, and 13 gold medals over four appearances competing for Canada at the Special Olympics World Summer Games.
He retired after setting new records in the squat with a lift of 277.5 kg (611 pounds), the deadlift with a lift of 297.5 kg (656 pounds), and the triple combination with a score of 697.5 kg (1,538 pounds) at the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles, where he also broke the mainstream Newfoundland and Labrador men’s masters super-heavyweight squat record.
He was named Special Olympics Canada male athlete of the year in 2000 and 2015. In 2015, he also received the prestigious Dr. Frank Hayden Athlete Lifetime Achievement Award from Special Olympics Canada, and became the first Special Olympian to be nominated for the Lou Marsh Award as Canada’s top athlete.
In 2019, he set another new precedent as the first Special Olympian to be inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.
Because of COVID-19, the Hall of Fame Class of 2020 will be formally recognized at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame’s Induction Festival in the fall of 2021.
