Characterized once as being "genetically blessed" to do the Hawaii Ironman triathlon - the official world championship of that long-distance event - Lori Bowden won that grueling event twice, in 2003 and 1999, and placed second or third five other times between 1997 and 2002. Having grown up in a Toronto-area household where both parents were into triathlon, Lori ultimately became the undisputed Canadian queen of the sport, winning five national titles from '97 to '02. Her overall record of 12 Ironman victories rank her third in the world. It'll likely be tough to keep Lori away from racing, even as she moves into her 40s. Consider that at age 39 in 2006 she came back from a nearly two-year Ironman hiatus to take second in Austria. That was where, in 2002, she posted the second-fastest women's time ever in the event of eight hours, 51 minutes, 22 seconds, a mark that still stands. Considering she didn't win her first Ironman race until she was 30, it's a good sign that she's made of different stuff than the average triathlete.

A city boy who honed his chops playing with the Vic High Tyees, Brian Robinson was destined for greater things in soccer. A Vic West club player who toiled in the summer Pacific Coast League for Victoria United, later the Victoria O'Keefes, Robinson got his first taste of international soccer at age 16 in 1969 when the O'Keefes hosted West Bromwich Albion from England's first division. He graduated through the ranks, from the Victoria Royals semi-pro side to the B.C. Selects and finally hooked up with the Canadian national team. The speedy midfielder earned his first cap in 1972 in an Olympic qualifying match against Mexico and would be capped 40 times. After helping Victoria's London Boxing Club win a Canadian title in 1974, he played a pro season with the Vancouver Whitecaps. But injuries cut his season short and he came home to coach the Victoria Athletics. He wasn't done playing, however, and in 1978 rejoined the national team as they competed in the World Cup qualifier. He was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006.