Charmaine Crooks

Charmaine Crooks (born August 8, 1962), is a Canadian businesswoman, sports executive, and retired sprinter and middle-distance runner. Crooks was born in Mandeville, Jamaica, but represented Canada for close to 20 years in athletics. She was a five-time Olympian, winning silver and setting a national record of 3:21.21 in the 4 x 400 metres relay with her teammates Jillian Richardson, Molly Killingbeck, and Marita Payne. The first Canadian woman to run 800 metres in under two minutes, Crooks also won gold medals at the Pan American, Commonwealth, World Student Games, and World Cup. In 1996, she had the honour of being Canada's flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. She is the fifth child with five sisters and three brothers.
Biography
Crooks is the president and founder of NGU Consultants (since 1994), a sports marketing, management and corporate consulting company, which provides strategic counsel and growth strategies to major corporations on a national and global basis. She is also a keynote speaker, appearing at national and international conferences, corporate meetings and retreats and speaking on topics ranging from team building, leadership, inspiration and the Olympic Movement.
Crooks was elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes Commission in 1996 and was elected as a full voting member of the IOC from 2000 to 2004. She continues to serve on the IOC Athletes' Commission, has been a member of the IOC Press Commission since 2001, and was a founding member of the independent IOC Ethics Commission.
As an elected member of the executive board of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), Crooks is Chair of Olympians Canada (alumni body of Olympians) and the COC's Awards and Recognition/Hall of Fame Committee. As one of the original 2010 Olympic bid team members (since 1998) she is also one of twenty directors for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), and served on both the VANOC Governance and Strategic Communications Committee.
From 2003-2011, Crooks was elected by her peers to serve on the executive board of the alumni body of Olympians, the World Olympians Association (WOA) and was a WOA Vice President. She was the founding and first Chair of the PASO Athletes' Commission. Crooks is a founding member and past member of the International Board of Directors for Right To Play, an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sports to encourage the development of youth in disadvantaged areas.
Crooks is a current board member of the Canucks Autism Network (CAN) and has been a longstanding honorary member of Big Sisters of the Lower Mainland since 2000. She is also a member of FIFA's Organizing Committee for Competitions.
In 2006, Crooks was the recipient of the IOC Women in Sport Trophy.
On May 1, 2021, Crooks was named vice president of Canada Soccer.
In December 2022, Crooks was given the Order of Canada.
On March 1, 2023, Crooks was named interim president of the Canadian Soccer Association.
References
External links
1962 births
Living people
Canadian female sprinters
Olympic silver medalists for Canada
Olympic track and field athletes for Canada
Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada
Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Pan American Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games
Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
Jamaican emigrants to Canada
Black Canadian female track and field athletes
Canadian International Olympic Committee members
UTEP Miners women's track and field athletes
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
World Athletics Championships athletes for Canada
Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
Universiade silver medalists for Canada
World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade
Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games
Olympic female sprinters
People from Mandeville, Jamaica
Sportspeople from Manchester Parish
Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games