Dan Murray is one of the most accomplished triathletes to come out of the Windsor-Essex region and one of the premier performers int triathlon that Canada has ever produced.

A LaSalle native, Murray traces his triathlon roots to cross country and track and field at Sandwich Secondary school, where he was a perennial ECSSA and SWOSS cross country and distance track champion.

When he wasn’t dominating the local high school cross country and track distance races, Murray was busy earning First-Team All Country honours in basketball.

Upon graduating from Sandwich Secondary School, Murray attended the University of Windsor where he was cross-country MVP and the indoor 3000m record holder in his final year as a Lancer. Murray also set the record in the 1000yd freestyle swim as a member of the University Swim Team.

Murray began pursuing the sport of triathlon after graduating from University, and he quickly established himself as one of Canada’s finest.

Murray competed in the first ever Triathlon Union World Championship, finishing as the top Canadian, 13th in the race, and leading Canada to a team bronze medal.

From there, Murray was a regular fixture on the International Triathlon Union (ITU) and Pro Triathlete circuits. In May 1991, Murray became the first Canadian to win an ITU World Cup Event when he bested the field at the San Andreas Triathlon.

Over a seven-year span, Murray competed against the world’s best triathletes and continued to post numerous top 20 finishes, including a third-place finish at the Milton ITU World Cup event in 1991, a fifth-place finish later that same year at the CNE Pro Triathlon in Toronto, and a fourth-place finish at the Drummondville ITU World Cup event in 1996. That year, he was ranked as the 12th best triathlete in the world.

Murray had a pioneering effect on the sport of triathlon in Canada and, certainly, in his home region. For his noted accomplishments as one of this country’s greatest triathletes, Dan Murray is inducted into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame in the Athlete category.