By Sam Cortes, Communications Coordinator
It’s that time of year again! Over the next several months, we will highlight the extraordinary individuals and teams who make up the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame class of 2020 as they take their place as Honoured Members.
First up, an exceptional racquetball player from Thompson, Manitoba.
Jen Saunders (Athlete)
Jen Saunders competed both nationally and internationally. She has won 11 Canadian Women’s Singles Championships and 24 combined Canadian Women’s Singles and Doubles Championships, which are Canadian records. Internationally, she has competed for Team Canada on 29 occasions, winning 18 medals! In 2019, she announced her retirement from competitive play.
Growing up, Saunders has said her playing career started off slowly and she was not very good. However, by the age of 19, through hard work and dedication, she won the Women’s A category at the 96’ Canadian Championship. Over the next few years, she sharpened her skills and competed in many national tournaments in both singles and doubles.
In 2002, Saunders made her first appearance representing Team Canada at the Pan Am Championships. Although she did not win, it gave her a taste of international competition and what it took to compete at that level. Later that year, Saunders represented Canada at the Racquetball World Championships in Puerto Rico where she placed 2nd, losing a tough championship match against USA’s Cheryl Gudinas 15-13, 15-13 in the best of 3.
Over the next several years, Saunders partnered with one of her competitive rivals, Josee Grand’Maitre, to form what would become the most successful partnership in Canadian racquetball history. They ended up winning an unprecedented 10 Canadian Championships together. From 2003 right up to her retirement, Saunders made it to either the finals or semi-finals, in both singles and doubles, in the Canadian Championships and regularly competed for medals at the World Championships. Her consistency over time proved that she was without a doubt one of the best players in the world.
Saunders won her second silver medal at the 2012 World Championships in singles. In her third Pan Am Games, Saunders finally won a medal that somehow managed to elude her in the first two, winning the bronze medal in doubles with her partner Frederique Lambert.
Saunders’s career spanned over two decades, and throughout those 20 years, she remained competitive on both the national and international stage, making her a worthy addition to the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.
