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The timelines for sports ascendancy within a country can vary widely.

Triathlon landed in the Canadian sporting consciousness with one fell swoop on a sunny September morning in 2000 when Simon Whitfield ran out of the shadow of the Sydney Opera House and into sporting history.

Tennis’ rise in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, to where it has now become a happening with Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard, was more of a slow burn and nurtured through many years of foundation building by former Tennis sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ CEO Bob Moffatt.

Two-time Olympic medallist Whitfield, in the athlete’s category, and Moffatt, in the builder’s category, will join the Class of 2016 to be enshrined into the Victoria Sports Hall of Fame during the 25th anniversary induction ceremonies tonight at the Westin Bear Mountain ballroom.

The Class of 2016 includes athletes who competed in a combined eight Olympic Games, winning three medals, and coaches Mike Spracklen from rowing and the late Randy Bennett from swimming who between them guided Island athletes to a total of eight Olympic medals.

Bennett, who shaped the careers of Olympic-medallists Ryan Cochrane and Hilary Caldwell, died of cancer last year at age 51 and will be inducted posthumously.

Spracklen guided Canadian crews from Elk Lake to two Olympic gold medals and a silver in men’s eight, an Olympic silver medal in fours and Silken Laumann’s famous Olympic comeback bronze medal.

Gerald Kazanowski dominated the post position in helping to lead the University of Victoria Vikes to four CIS men’s national basketball championships and sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to a fourth-place finish at the 1984 L.A. Olympics.

That 1980s era included Nancy Mollenhauer (nee Charlton), one of the greatest Canadian field-hockey players. The Oak Bay product won national championships at UVic and medals with the national team at the 1983 and 1986 World Cups and placed fifth with sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ in the 1984 L.A. Olympics and sixth in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

The remarkable life saga of Mount Douglas-grad Simon Keith will also be acknowledged. The talented Keith was almost certainly headed to play pro soccer when he was struck down in the midst of his UVic Vikes career with a heart virus and was suddenly weeks from death. Keith underwent a life-saving heart transplant and became one of the rare athletes to play pro sports with a new heart.

Also being inducted is former NHL forward Kent Manderville, who became a rare Winter Olympian out of the Island when he won silver with sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ at the 1992 Albertville Games.

John and Marilyn Bate’s decades of service to local sports is legendary. They will join Moffatt in being enshrined tonight in the builder’s category.