Discus thrower Raine Bradley's dominance nationally, provincially, regionally and locally has led his athletic efforts to be selected as the BayToday 2024 Sports Story of the Year.
See related: What is the 2024 Sports Story of the Year
The selection process was conducted by BayToday staff and our sports freelancers aided by the more than 1,400 reader poll votes.
Chippewa Secondary School athlete Raine Bradley won multiple medals at multiple high-profile track and field meets in 2024. The 16-year-old won silver in discus (U16) at Legion National Track and Field meet in Calgary and won gold in the same event at the Ontario Summer Games in London.
In the spring of 2024, Bradley won the 2024 Fergie Dowdall Trophy as the top athlete at the NDA Track and Field Championship in his first year and went on to break a long-standing NOSSA Novice discus record set by current Toronto Argonauts lineman and Algonquin alum Ryan Hunter when Bradley threw the disc 50.20 metres. In June 2024, he threw a personal best of 51.22 metres on the province’s biggest stage to beat the nearest competitor by five metres at the OFSAA track and field championships in London, Ont. It was an impressive performance as four out of the six throws by Raine were far enough to win the gold medal.
Bradley, who is also a rep hockey player on the North Bay U16 AA Trappers was thrilled to find out about the recognition.
"Being selected as the 2024 sports story of the year is an amazing achievement even just being nominated is a great honour," he told BayToday.
"It means so much that North Bay recognized me as a candidate for the sport story of the year especially when my fellow nominees had such impressive seasons. Ryan Hunter chatted with me and gave me advice before I competed at OFSAA, so to be up against him was particularly special. It’s just an amazing feeling to see my hard work pay off, and I’d like to say thank you to everyone who voted for me and helped me throughout this year."
Hunter, who brought home his second Grey Cup came in a close second to Bradley in voting. He was named the CFL's top lineman at the 2024 Grey Cup Banquet, and won his second Grey Cup with the Argonauts. Hunter adds to his trophy case which includes a Super Bowl title with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.
Jaimee Bull, whose waterskiing excellence was recognized as the 2023 Sports Story of the Year, finished third in the voting.
The North Bay waterskier secured her fourth Water Ski Pro Tour title with a tight victory at the Miami Pro Tour which wrapped up on November 4, 2024. Bull captured four first-place finishes during the 2024 tour schedule en route to the tour title.
In the fourth spot was the inspiring playoff run by the North Bay Battalion. The Troops, led by rookie netminder Mike McIvor battled back from a 3-0 deficit against the Oshawa Generals only to suffer defeat in a heartbreaking game seven in Oshawa during the Eastern Conference Final.
It was the third straight year the Troops made it to the final four in the OHL, and the second time in a row they were beaten in a seven-game series.
The Battalion got to the Eastern Conference final again by defeating the Kingston Frontenacs in the opening round in five games and then dispatched their rival Sudbury Wolves in four straight.
The final vote tally can be found HERE.
