CBC Sports' Devin Heroux to receive medal for 'top-quality, enthusiastic and empathetic sports coverage'

Athletes and coaches must be viewed as humans first who are doing extraordinary athletic things.

This is the belief of CBC Sports senior reporter Devin Heroux when speaking with them at an Olympics, Paralympics or elsewhere, and when sharing his thoughts on social media.

"I'll never know what it's like to swim as fast as Summer McIntosh or sprint as quickly as Andre De Grasse, but I do know what it means to win, and I do know loss. And they do as well," Heroux said this week, after recently returning from Paris after covering his fourth consecutive Olympics and Paralympics.

"When we realize and appreciate the humanity that lives within athletes, I think we can speak differently to them and ask more thoughtful questions. In turn, we get more beautiful, vulnerable, revealing moments that allow the audience to appreciate them in a very human way."

Heroux and 58 others will be presented with King Charles III Coronation Medals on Friday at the Citadelle of Québec for making a significant contribution to Canada, a province, territory, region or community or who have achieved abroad that brings honour to the country.

The Saskatoon native is being recognized by the office of King Charles III under the category of diversity and inclusion for providing "top-quality, enthusiastic and empathetic professional sports coverage as a senior multi-platform reporter."

Making the presentation Friday will be the Governor General of Canada, the Right Honourable Mary Simon. The Governor General is one of several nominators, with the medal being awarded to 30,000 individuals in total.

Honoured and humbled by this recognition, the 37-year-old Heroux pointed out it's a "celebration of those whom I've worked beside and all of the athletes who have