CANADIAN ATHLETES: WHO'S TRENDING?

Talk'OH! Tuesday

Written by Glenn Javier

With 2020 being the year of uncertainty, everyone hopes that 2021 won't follow in its' footsteps. Pandemic or not, one thing's for certain in the world of sports - it's the continuous rise of internet sensations. With the disruptive capabilities of social media, nothing can stop athletes' rising recognition from different sporting events - whether it be useful (like an iconic performance that blew up on Twitter) or just bad publicity.

Given that two were picked as nominees for the Lou Marsh Athlete of the Year Trophy and all of them gaining popularity on Twitter and Instagram (for various reasons) as per ET's Trending Sports Personalities in Canada this 2020, here are my top picks for Canadian athletes to look out for in 2021.

Canadian Professional Tennis Player Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard posing for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit; Photo from Sports Illustrated

Jamal Murray (Basketball)

As per SportingNews' top picks for Canada's Athlete of the Year under the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy, Jamal Murray (No. 27) of the Denver Nuggets made it to the top four. He was a Twitter frenzy topic during Game 7 of the Clippers-Nuggets Western Conference semifinals when he scored 40 points and sent home the infamous Kawhi Leonard of the opposing team. A career-high regular-season average of 18.5 points and Murray's best post-season. He averaged 26.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.6 assists in 19 games. He's just as productive on the Social Media court, and he has almost 1M followers on Instagram and 194K followers on Twitter.

Murray, who's actually from Kitchener, appears to be reclaiming his top spot with teammate Nikola Jokić after starting low in the 2020-21 season.

Genie Bouchard (Tennis)

Tennis World and ET Canada confirmed that Eugenie Bouchard, better known as "Genie," is the most followed Canadian athlete of 2020 with a considerable following that consists of 2.1 million followers on Instagram and 1.6 million on Twitter. According to CBC Sports, she became the first Canadian-born player to make it to the finals of a singles Grand Slam tournament and the first to be ranked in the top 5. Bouchard is also known on social media as a recurring model for several Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues.

While she hasn't been excelling on the court these past years, Bouchard is currently preparing for WTA (Women's Tennis Association) Tournaments and probably some modelling gigs in the year.

Chase Claypool (American Football)

Like Murray, Chase Claypool (No. 11) of the Pittsburgh Steelers was also considered a contender by SportingNews for the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy. He had an exponential rise to fame in the NFL when the Steelers picked him in the second round of the 2020 Draft. Claypool's first Touchdown with teammate Ben Roethlisberger marked the longest scrimmage TD by a Canadian-born player and also became the third rookie wide receiver in NFL history. He has over 620K combined followers on Instagram and Twitter.

Steeler's Depot recently reported that Claypool was named Steelers' Joe Greene Rookie Of Year while Roethlisberger bags' The Chief' Award.

Christine Sinclair (Soccer)

Canadian National and Portland Thorns captain Christine Sinclair was given the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award for Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year after topping the international scoring leaderboard. Apart from her 296 international appearances and 55 assists, she now holds the scoring record with 185 international goals. She also won the award in 2012 after getting a bronze medal for Canada in the 2012 London Olympics. Sinclair has almost 100K followers on Twitter.

She has made her mark as a captain, helping Canadian women book their tickets to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this coming July.

Lance Stroll (Formula One)

Belgian-Canadian Lance Stroll was under the social media spotlight after his not-so-clearly explained crash during the Tuscan Grand Prix. According to Alan Baldwin of Reuters, he also had a bit of a tangled situation with McLaren's Norris in Portugal, knocked over a mechanic, and had a collision during practice. What's worse is that he got sick and contracted COVID-19. Talk about having a bad year. Stroll became the second-youngest driver to finish an F1 race on the podium back in 2017. He has over 530K combined followers on Instagram and Twitter.

Stroll's is driving for Aston Martin in 2021, and his teammate for the next season will be four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel.

Athletes on the field/court: