Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the sports world had to find ways to adjust. Professional leagues like the NHL, NBA and WNBA all finished the 2020 season in bubbles while the summer Olympics in Tokyo were postponed until 2021.

However, the coronavirus did not stop several Canadian athletes from enjoying banner years. Many of them set records, took home major championships and made headlines across the globe for their accomplishments.

First awarded in 1936, the Lou Marsh Trophy for top Canadian athlete will be voted on by the media on Dec. 8. Here are five contenders for the honour.

Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich

The 20-year-old Davies had as a good year as any athlete in 2020. The Bayern Munich fullback took home five trophies with the team this year, including the prestigious Champions League title (the first Canadian man to do so), the Bundesliga league title, the DFB Cup, UEFA Super Cup and DFL-Supercup.

In 33 appearances with Bayern in 2020, Davies recorded two goals and six assists. He shone on the biggest stage, with highlight-reel moments against Chelsea and Barcelona in Champions League play.

His accomplishments earned him his third Canada Soccer’s Men’s Player of the Year award and was shortlisted for the UEFA's Team of the Year and Defender of the Year. In April, Davies re-upped with Bayern to a five-year, $27.5-million contract extension and followed that up by winning Bundesliga rookie of the year in June.

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Kansas City Chiefs

The Canadian offensive lineman kicked off 2020 on a high note as his Kansas City Chiefs took home Super Bowl LIV in February, becoming the ninth Canadian to do so.

However, it was his work off the field that defined Duvernay-Tardif’s year.

The Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que. native, who graduated from McGill University with a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery degree in 2018, opted out of the 2020 NFL season and instead began working at a long-term care facility in his home province.

His most recent honour came on Sunday, when he became one of five athletes recognized as "Sportsperson of the Year: The Activist Athlete" by Sports Illustrated alongside LeBron James, Naomi Osaka, Breanna Stewart and Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes.

Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets point guard and Kitchener, Ont. native Murray had a strong season in 2019-20, registering career highs in points per game (18.5), assists per game (4.8) and steals per game (1.1) with also registering 4.0 rebounds per game.

But it was in the playoff bubble where Murray made sure every NBA fan knew his name.

In the first round against the Utah Jazz, the 23-year-old had a double-double of 50 points and 11 rebounds in Game 4 as the Nuggets lost to go down 3-1 in the series. He then went off for 42 points and 50 points in back-to-back contests to take the series to a Game 7, which Denver would go on to win.

Murray’s defining performance of the postseason came in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, when he dropped 40 points, eliminating Kawhi Leonard and the favoured Los Angeles Clippers.

More importantly, Murray became a voice off the court as NBA players walked out on games to protest police brutality and systemic anti-Black racism in the United States. Murray wore sneakers that featured images of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two Black Americans killed by police in 2020 when play resumed.

Kadeisha Buchanan, Olympique Lyonnais

For Olympique Lyonnais and Canadian women’s national team defender Buchanan, 2020 saw the Brampton, Ont. native continue to fill her trophy case.

The 25-year-old helped OL win their seventh UEFA Women's Champions League title (her fourth career CL title) as well as the Division 1 Feminine league title and Coupe de France. In 17 games for Lyon this year, Buchanan scored three goals and was shortlisted for UEFA’s Team of the Year.

She also recorded her 100th cap for Canada in a loss to the United States on Feb. 6.

On Dec. 4, Buchanan was honoured with her third Canada Soccer’s Women’s Player of the Year award.

Chase Claypool, Pittsburgh Steelers

After a strong four-year college career with Notre Dame, 2020 saw Claypool make the jump to the NFL after being drafted in the second round (46th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 22-year-old has made an impression early on in his NFL career, with a combined 10 touchdowns (eight receiving, two rushing) and 633 combined yards in 11 games.

In Week 5, the Abbotsford, B.C. native posted four touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles, becoming the first Steelers rookie in franchise history to accomplish the feat and the first Steeler since 1968 to do so.

Already a large part of the Steelers’ offence, Pittsburgh is 11-0 so far on the season, the only NFL team with a perfect record. ​