Six sports legends were inducted into the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday.
“It feels kind of surreal,” Olympic gold medalist Thea LaFond told MCM at the ceremony at the Silver Spring Civic Building.
The new inductees are:
- Olympic gold medalist triple jumper Thea LaFond
- U.S. soccer player Oguchi Onyewu
- Lacrosse all-time great Paul Rabil
- Olympic gold medalist ice hockey player Haley Skarupa
- Football coach Al Thomas (posthumous)
- NFL player Bob Windsor
And, the first-ever “Lifetime Achievement Award” was posthumously given to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who started a summer camp for kids with intellectual disabilities at her home, and who eventually founded the Special Olympics in the 1960s.
Also for the first time, an “Unsung Sports Hero” award was given to three people who work to increase sports opportunities for the underserved:
- Plum Gar Warriors girls’ basketball team coach Caprina Pipion-Williams
- Gaithersburg High School special education paraeducator Brett Riley
- International Sports Organization founder Muhammad Arif Wali
The Sports Hall of Fame is located at the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center in downtown Silver Spring.
