Gold-Medal Olympians Renata Fast & Emma Maltais Recipients of 2022 Burlington Keys to the City

Key to the City
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Today, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward surprised gold-medal Olympians Renata Fast and Emma Maltais with Keys to the City. The pair are the first two recipients for 2022.The presentation was made at a Public Skate with the Olympians event hosted by the City of Burlington at the Appleby Ice Centre.A MESSAGE FROM MAYOR MEED WARD:On behalf of myself and City Council, we are so beyond proud of our two local gold-medal Olympians -- Renata Fast and Emma Maltais -- and thrilled to be able to recognize them with Keys to the City. Not only did they act as ambassadors of Burlington on Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, but these two amazing and inspirational athletes are helping break barriers for women and it was just amazing to watch them both be able to show the kind of talent and skill that Burlington, and Canada, has to offer on an international stage like the Olympics. Please read more about these two amazing individuals below.RENATA FASTRenata Fast first wore the maple leaf as a member of the National Women's Development Team in 2014. She won gold with the U22 team at the 2015 Nations Cup before joining the National Women's Team at the 2015 Four Nations Cup where she won a silver medal. Following a second straight silver win at the Four Nations Cup in 2016, she made her International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World debut in 2017 and helped Canada gain the silver medal. She also contributed to Canada's silver medal in her Olympics debut at the PyeongChang Winter Games in 2018.Before this, she played for the Burlington Barracudas at various levels from 2003-12 where she was named Female Athlete of the Year in the Burlington Junior programs from 2006-11; won a gold medal with the team at the Ontario Women's Hockey Association provincials (Peewee AA) in 2007; and took home the 2012 Junior Women's Hockey League Challenge Cup with the Intermediate AA Barracudas.After playing at and graduating from Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., where she was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic team in all her four years there, she was selected second overall by the Toronto Furies in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) -- and in her inaugural year was a finalist for Rookie of the Year in 2016-17, having led all Toronto defence in scoring. She finished her career with the Toronto Furies as a two-time all-star before the league ceased operations in 2019.Afterwards, Renata joined the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) where she advocated for better standards in women's pro hockey and played for Toronto in the 2020 and 2021 Dream Gap Tours. She was also part of Team Canada during the women's showcases at the 2019 and 2020 NHL All-Star Games.At the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, Renata (along with her teammate Emma Maltais) scored her first Olympic goal during Canada's win against Switzerland that helped advance Team Canada to the gold-medal game and their win against the U.S.EMMA MALTAISEmma Maltais first joined the Canadian national program in 2015 with the U18 team. Just two months before the 2016 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, she broke her wrist in training, but recovered in time to compete for Canada. Emma tied for team lead with six points in five games, helping to earn Canada a silver medal -- repeating a silver finish in 2017.Before that, she played for the Burlington Barracudas, winning a bronze medal at the OWHA provincials (Novice A) in 2008. She later joined the Oakville Hornets, winning gold at the OWHA provincials (Intermediate AA) and bronze at the PWHL championship in 2015. Emma won another silver and gold with Oakville at the OWHA provincials in 2016 and 2017, respectively. She was named captain of the Hornets for the 2016-17 season and led the PWHL in scoring with 56 points in 34 games, helping the team win the PWHL championship. She is Oakville's all-time leading scorer with 56 goals and 150 points in 105 games.Emma played at the collegiate level for Ohio State University, reaching the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Frozen Four in 2018 and 2021. She also helped the Buckeyes in their first ever Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Championship in 2020 and led Ohio State in scoring with 43 points in 35 games -- earning WCHA First All-Star team honours and being named to the WCHA All-Academic team.She is also a two-time Patty Kazmaier Award finalist (in 2020 and 2021) and the 2018 WCHA Rookie of the Year.As a junior at Ohio State, in 2020, Emma set a school record with 59 points and was a Second Team All-American selection. In 2021, she served as team captain and was named All-American Scholar.At the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, Emma (along with her teammate Renata Fast) scored her first Olympic goal during Canada's win against Switzerland that helped advance Team Canada to the gold-medal game and their win against the U.S.[gallery columns="4" ids="28238,28239,28240,28241,28242,28243,28245,28246"][gallery ids="17870,17872,17871"]ABOUT THE KEY:Designed and created by local stained glass artist Teresa Seaton, the multi-coloured glass key incorporates elements of Burlington’s natural landscape and the City crest, all within the shape of our well-known blue city clock that stands proudly outside City Hall as a gift from our twin city, Itabashi, Japan. The key is housed in a textured glass box that adds to the timeless beauty of this work of art. Burlington's Key to the City program was launched in 2019.RELATED LINKS:

—*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor’s Media and Digital Communications Specialist

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