Tag Archives: Olympics

Spirit in Motion: Canada and the Paralympics

Posted on by
2

Version française

By Sali Lafrenie

With the Olympic Games winding down and the Paralympic Games winding up in 2 weeks, it’s time for a paralympic preview. The 2024 Paralympics will also take place in Paris, from August 28th to September 8th, and will include 22 sports:

  • Para archery
  • Para athletics
  • Para badminton
  • Blind football
  • Boccia (similar to bocce and pétanque)
  • Para canoe
  • Para cycling
  • Para equestrian
  • Goalball
  • Para judo
  • Para powerlifting
  • Para rowing
  • Shooting Para Sport
  • Sitting volleyball
  • Para swimming
  • Para table tennis
  • Para taekwondo
  • Para triathlon
  • Wheelchair basketball
  • Wheelchair fencing
  • Wheelchair rugby (previously called murderball)
  • Wheelchair tennis

While the Modern Olympic Games date back to 1896, the Paralympics have a different history. The Paralympic Games as we know them date back to 1984. But they had a different name from 1960 to 1980: the International Stoke Mandeville Games.

The International Stoke Mandeville Games

Although the International Stoke Mandeville Games began in 1960, their origin dates to 1948 at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. Like the Inter-Allied Games and the Invictus Games, the Stoke Mandeville Games were meant to be a rehabilitative experience for people with disabilities and for veterans. The Games eventually grew into a large-scale sports competition.

Initially consisting of only wheelchair athletes, the Games grew over time to include athletes from other countries—making them international—as well as athletes with a range of disabilities, which lead to the inclusion of more sports.

While the International Stoke Mandeville Games are considered the precursor to the Paralympics, there are and were many different types of sports competitions for athletes with disabilities such as the World Abilitysport Games, the Special Olympics, the Parapan American Games, and the Deaflympics (first held in Paris in 1924).

Below, we can see photographs of athletes competing at the 1972 International Stoke Mandeville Games in sports like archery, swimming, and wheelchair basketball.

A black and white photograph of a wheelchair archer drawing a bow and wearing a t-shirt with a maple leaf on it.

Archery, 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, Heidelberg, Germany, August 1–10, 1972. (e011783300)

A black and white photograph of Para swimmers in the water holding onto the starting blocks.

Swimming, 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, Heidelberg, Germany, August 1–10, 1972. (e011783302)

A black and white photograph of two wheelchair basketball teams at tip off.

Basketball, 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, Heidelberg, Germany, August 1–10, 1972. (e011783301)

Canada and the Paralympic Games

Participating in the Games for over 50 years, Canadian Para athletes have a long and shiny history at the Paralympics. It’s safe to say that Canadian Para athletes tend to win a lot, given that they rank fourth in All-Time Paralympic Summer Games Medal Standings. Team Canada has dominating records in Para swimming, Para athletics, Para cycling, and wheelchair basketball. Notable athletes in these sports include Benoît Huot, Michelle Stilwell, Chantal Petitclerc, and Richard Peter.

Each of these athletes have made their mark on parasport history in different ways. Huot did so at Rio 2016 when he earned his 20th Paralympic medal, officially tying the record for second all-time Paralympic swimming medals. Stilwell left her mark in two different sports, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair racing, winning at least one gold medal in both sports. Senator Chantal Petitclerc, perhaps one of the most recognizable names in Canadian parasport alongside Rick Hansen, represented Canada at 5 Paralympics and won 21 medals. Richard Peter, also a dual-sport athlete and five-time Paralympian, competed in wheelchair basketball and in Para badminton, winning multiple medals with the wheelchair basketball team throughout his career. Peter was also featured in the docuseries “Chiefs and Champions” highlighting Indigenous athletes representing Canada in sports.

A colour photograph of athletes wearing red Team Canada jackets, one in the foreground standing and shaking the Prime Minister’s hand and another in the background speaking to someone.

Paralympic athlete Benoît Huot during recognition ceremony at Parliament Hill with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Credit: Jason Ransom. (MIKAN 5586583)

A colour photograph of athletes wearing red Team Canada jackets sitting in wheelchairs and moving in a line to shake the hands of members of parliament.

Paralympic athletes Michelle Stilwell and Jason Crone during recognition ceremony at Parliament Hill with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Credit: Jill Thompson. (MIKAN 5609841)

A colour photograph of athletes, three in the foreground in wheelchairs wearing Paralympic medals and seven sitting on benches in the background.

Paralympic athletes Tyler Miller, Marco Dispaltro, and Richard Peter during recognition ceremony at Parliament Hill with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Credit: Jason Ransom. (MIKAN 5609841)

The Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame

Canadians have made an impact on the Games inside and outside of the competition itself. Currently, the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame consists of 42 inductees in three categories: builders, coaches, and athletes.

One important builder is Dr. Robert W. Jackson, an orthopaedic surgeon who is credited with founding the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association and as being a major advocate of parasports. While Dr. Jackson’s legacy lies in his contributions to the medical field as a pioneer of arthroscopic surgery, his legacy is also important to the world of sports. Outside of his work promoting parasports, Dr. Jackson also worked with professional athletes in two major leagues: the Canadian Football League (Toronto Argonauts) and the National Basketball Association (Dallas Mavericks). And in 1976, he was responsible for organizing the Paralympics in Toronto, also known as the Toronto Olympiad. All of this and more can be found in Dr. Jackson’s fonds here at LAC.

Another important Hall of Fame inductee is Eugene Reimer, a member of the first Canadian Paralympic team and a dominant wheelchair athlete. Throughout his athletic career, Reimer won 10 medals across 4 Paralympics and more than 50 medals at national and international competitions. He was also named Canadian male athlete of the year for these achievements. Reimer was an all-around athlete, a true competitor and multi-talented athlete who also played for the Vancouver Cable Cars wheelchair basketball team—the same team that Rick Hansen and Terry Fox played on in British Columbia. Check out this photo of Reimer competing in Para archery at the 1972 Games.

A black and white photograph of a row of archers sitting in wheelchairs.

Canada’s Eugene Reimer, archery, 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, Heidelberg, Germany, August 1–10, 1972. (e011783299)

Athletes and sports to watch

Turning back to Paris 2024, let’s look at some of the athletes and sports coming up!

Given Canada’s success in Para swimming, it only makes sense to start there. This year, Canada is sending 22 Para swimmers to Paris. While there are some new faces, there are quite a few familiar ones including Aurélie Rivard, Nicholas Bennett, and Katarina Roxon, who will be competing in her fifth Paralympics.

While there are a lot of crossover sports between the Olympic and the Paralympic Games, one of the best parts of the Paralympics are the sports that are unique to them, like goalball. If you’ve never watched the sport, then you’re in for an exciting time, and if you have watched goalball, then you know exactly what I mean. The women’s goalball team has seen a lot of success recently and historically, securing their spot in Paris by winning gold at the 2023 Parapan American Games.

Just like the Olympics, the Paralympics are always evolving and changing. Sometimes that evolution looks like adding or removing sports, and other times it looks like providing more parity between athletes and prize money. In the last 16 years, the Paralympics have added five sports to their roster: Para rowing, Para triathlon, Para canoe, Para badminton, and Para taekwondo. It’s an exciting time to be a sports fan, and if you can’t get enough of the Paralympic Games and want to learn more, check out this list of 50 Things To Know About The Paralympic Games. Happy watching!

Additional Resources

  • 2012-09-19 Olympians, Library and Archives Canada (MIKAN 5609841)
  • 2015-07-10 Toronto Pan American Games, Library and Archives Canada (MIKAN 5610897)
  • Amazing athletes: an all-star look at Canada’s Paralympians by Marie-Claude Ouellet and Jacques Goldstyn; translated by Phyllis Aronoff and Howard Scott (OCLC 1240172154)

Sali Lafrenie is a Portfolio Archivist in the Private Archives Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

 

Faster, Higher, Stronger: Canada at the Summer Olympics

Posted on by
4

Version française

By Sali Lafrenie

The Olympics are heating up! With the games underway, now is the perfect time to dive back into our Olympic coverage here at Library and Archives Canada. While Canada is often considered a powerhouse in winter sports, Canadian athletes have earned more medals at the Summer Games than at the Winter Games. To date, Canada has earned a total of 326 medals at the Summer Olympics, with the most success in athletics, aquatics (swimming, artistic swimming, and diving) and paddle sports (canoe/kayak and rowing).

In this instalment of our Olympics series, we’re revisiting these popular medal sports and a few others!

Five Canadian postage stamps depicting various Olympic sports, such as diving, cycling, swimming, athletics, and gymnastics.

Canadian postage stamps depicting sports moments from the 1992 Olympic Games. (e003576364)

The Matchless Six: Amsterdam 1928

Remembered for their outstanding performances at the 1928 Olympics, the “Matchless Six” were Canada’s first Olympic women’s team. But why were they the first? And what did they do?

Despite the modern Olympic Games beginning in 1896, women were not allowed to compete in athletics until 1928. The team, consisting of Fanny Rosenfeld, Jean Thompson, Myrtle Cook, Florence Jane Bell, Ethel Smith, and Ethel Catherwood, made history by collectively winning four medals and competing in four events. Their dominance was particularly impressive given that women could only compete in five athletics events at the time.

The Matchless Six paved the way for future generations of Canadian women in athletics. They have since all been recognized individually in multiple halls of fame in Canada and in Parks Canada’s registry of National Historic Persons.

Photograph of six women dressed in white blazers and skirts posing for a photo. Four other individuals are present in the background.

The Matchless Six: Canadian women’s track and field team taking part in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. (a151001)

A Family of Olympians: 1912, 1960–1968

After qualifying for and competing in the 1912 Olympics, John “Army” Howard became the first Black Olympian to represent Canada (the first Black Canadian-born Olympian to medal was Raymond Lewis in 1932). Although his athletic career was put on hold while he served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War, he got the chance to compete one more time for Canada at the 1919 Inter-Allied Games where he won bronze in the 100-metre event. Photos of the 1919 Inter-Allied Games can also be found in our collection.

His legacy continued through his grandchildren, Valerie and Harry Jerome, both of whom competed at the Olympics during the 1960s. Making their Olympic debut together in Rome 1960, the brother-sister duo made an impact on and off the track. They both won numerous medals at the National Championships, the Pan American Games, and the Commonwealth Games. However, it was Harry who made multiple Olympic appearances, winning bronze in the 100-metre event. Their family left an enduring mark on Canadian athletics and provided early representation for Black athletes on Team Canada.

Photograph of three athletes running on a track across the finish line at the Olympics.

Harry Jerome competing at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico. (a209764k)

Medal Droughts: 1912–1984 and 1936–2024?

Sometimes medal droughts happen, but the important part is when they end. Canada has experienced two notable medal droughts, particularly in swimming and basketball. For decades, Canadian swimmers were shut out from the top of the podium, leaving George Hodgson as our sole gold medal winner—he won two gold medals and set four world records in 1912. With the outbreak of the First World War, Hodgson put his athletic career on hold to serve as a flight sub-lieutenant with the Royal Naval Air Service. In 1984, the 72-year drought ended spectacularly with golden finishes by Alex Baumann, Anne Ottenbrite (the first Canadian woman to win gold in swimming), and Victor Davis.

Photograph of a man in a swimsuit.

George Hodgson. (a050291)

In basketball, Canadian teams have been working hard to end an 88-year drought. However, with recent success at the FIBA World Cup and the Pan American Games, both the men’s and women’s teams are suiting up for the Olympics together for the first time in over two decades. With Canadian players at an all-time high in the NBA and growing buzz about a new WNBA franchise coming to Canada in 2026, will 2024 be the year that Canadian basketball ends its medal drought?

Photograph of a man and a woman standing together.

Alisha Tatham, a member of the London 2012 women’s basketball team—the team’s first appearance since the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Credit: Jason Ransom. (MIKAN 5609841)

Paddling to the Podium: 1992–1996 and 2004–2012

Team Canada has an extensive history of success in paddle sports, winning a total of 69 medals at the Summer Games in rowing (introduced at the Paris 1900 Games) and kayaking (introduced at the Paris 1924 Games). So, it should come as no surprise that rowing ranks as the third most successful event for Canadians at the Summer Olympics, with kayaking coming in fourth.

The most successful Canadian athletes in these sports have each earned four medals: Marnie McBean, Kathleen Heddle, and Adam van Koeverden. McBean and Heddle competed at Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996, earning four medals in two games and the titles of triple gold medallists. Now a member of Parliament, kayaker van Koeverden earned four medals in three games and is often referred to as Canada’s most successful paddler.

McBean and Heddle’s golden achievements have earned them both induction into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame—a recognition van Koeverden should expect to receive as well.

Photograph of two men smiling and shaking hands.

Adam van Koeverden meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper after the London 2012 Olympics. Credit: Jason Ransom. (MIKAN 5609841)

Back-to-Back Appearances: 2000–2004 and 2020–2024

Competing in the women’s water polo event at Paris 2024, Team Canada is making their fourth appearance at the Summer Games. Earning their Olympic berth in dramatic fashion earlier this year, the women’s water polo team is looking to make some waves. While we eagerly wait to see how the team will do, let’s look back at the team from Sydney 2000 and their notable co-captain, Waneek Horn-Miller.

Known for her athletic skills and motivational speaking, Waneek Horn-Miller is one of Canada’s most influential women in sport. She’s also the first Mohawk woman to compete for Team Canada at the Olympics. Co-leading the first women’s Olympic water polo team in 2000 to their best-ever finish, she also competed at the 1999 Pan American Games and at the 2001 FINA World Championships. While Horn-Miller no longer competes, she continues to share her love for sports and community through her work as a sports commentator, brand ambassador, and public speaker. In addition to sharing her experiences of the Oka Crisis, Waneek is the director of the Storyboot Project and served as assistant chef de mission at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.

Photograph of numerous athletes marching behind a man carrying a large Canadian flag.

Team Canada at the opening ceremony for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Waneek Horn-Miller can be seen in front with both of her arms stretched out wide. Credit: Deborah Ransom. (MIKAN 5603894)

While the hunt for the podium continues for popular sports like hockey, football, volleyball, and basketball, the games have yet to begin for newer sports like skateboarding, sport climbing, and breaking (making its debut). So, what’s in store for Team Canada? Which sports are you most excited to watch? And, who’s going to be the flagbearer for the closing ceremony?

Additional Resources

Sali Lafrenie is a Portfolio Archivist in the Private Archives Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

Ahead by a Century: remembering the Paris 1924 Olympics

Posted on by
2

Version française

By Sali Lafrenie

Picture it. Paris, 1924.

You’re at the Summer Olympic Games. And there are roughly 3,000 other athletes there with you.

What sport are you playing? Tennis? Maybe soccer? Basketball? Oh wait, is it aquatics? Athletics? No, boxing? Well, whatever it is, I bet you’re excited. You should be: Team Canada only sent 65 competitors, and this is the first time the Games are going to be broadcast live on the radio!

A black and white panoramic photograph of an outdoor stadium with hundreds of athletes.

General view of the Stadium of Colombes at the beginning of the 1924 Olympic Games (e011783298).

Considered to be the most successful of the Modern Games, the 1924 Summer Games in Paris looked very different from the Olympics that we know and love today. For starters, there were only 17 sports included in these Games. Five sports had been dropped from the previous iteration in 1920, with others included solely for demonstration or exhibition purposes.

Playing host for a third time, Paris 2024 will see Canada send 338 athletes to compete. The Games boast a whopping 32 sports, doubling the number of sports included at the 1924 Olympics.

In honour of the centenary, let’s dive into the 1924 Olympic Games!

1924 Winter Olympics

Did you know that when France bid to host the Summer Olympics in 1924, they accidentally started a new trend? That trend was the Winter Olympic Games.

The practice of hosting the Summer and Winter Games in the same year—sometimes in the same country—continued until 1992 when the International Olympic Committee decided to shift the Games to an alternating two-year schedule.

Before 1924, the Olympics only consisted of summer sports and did not have a winter sports equivalent. But there’s always a first. Hosted in Chamonix, France from January 25 to February 5, 1924, 260 athletes competed across 16 events. This means that 2024 is also the 100-year anniversary of the first Winter Olympic Games.

While Canada only sent 12 athletes to these Games—collectively earning a singular medal—there’s more to the story than that. The Chamonix Olympics was just the beginning for these athletes and the Canadian Winter Olympic Team, which had a roster of 215 athletes in 2022.

Charles “Charlie” Gorman, New Brunswicker and First World War Veteran, was one of these athletes. He made his Olympic debut in speed skating alongside the debut of the sport itself. Despite a disappointing finish in the 1924 Games, Gorman competed and won medals for Team Canada in numerous competitions, such as the American Championships, the Canadian Championships, and the World Championships.

A black and white photograph of a man speed skating and looking directly at the camera.

Photo of Charles Gorman speed skating (a050382).

Cecil Smith Hedstrom also made history at these Olympic Games when she became the first female Olympian to represent Canada. Competing in figure skating, Smith appeared in three Olympic Games and achieved many early feats to propel Canadian figure skating onto the world stage. For all these reasons and more, Smith was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 1991.

Earning the only medal for Team Canada at the Chamonix Games, the Toronto Granites Hockey Club won Canada’s first Winter Olympic gold medal. With this win, the Granites extended Canada’s Olympic ice hockey medal streak, initiated in 1920 by the Winnipeg Falcons who won gold in Antwerp. While ice hockey made its debut in the Antwerp Games, that was the first and last time the sport was included in the Summer Olympics. This means that Canada is the only country to have won a gold medal in ice hockey at both the Summer and the Winter Olympic Games.

A black and white photograph of a men’s hockey team standing on the ice holding hockey sticks.

Winnipeg Falcons, Olympic Champions (a049622).

1924 Summer Olympics

While all Olympic Games are important, the 1924 Summer Games had a special glow to it: live radio transmissions, the introduction of the Athlete’s Village, and the debut of the Olympic motto, “Faster, Higher, Stronger.”  The Modern Games ushered in a new era of international sports competitions that has only continued to expand in size and spectacle since 1924.

One of the greatest success stories of the 1924 Olympics comes from a group of athletes who technically were not a part of the Games: the Edmonton Grads. Although basketball was not officially included in the Olympics—men’s basketball would join in 1936 and women’s basketball would join in 1976—the Fédération sportive féminine internationale (FSFI) decided to hold their own matches alongside the Summer Games.

At home and abroad, the Grads were a difficult team to beat. They won approximately 95% of all the games they ever played and won the FSFI women’s basketball tournaments in 1924, 1928, and 1936.

Two black and white photographs of a group of female athletes. The first photograph has nine women standing in a line with one holding a basketball. The second photograph has nine women posing in two rows with a man standing in the middle of the back row.

Team photos of the Edmonton Grads in 1924 and 1936 (a050440) and (a050442).

Making his Olympic debut, Canadian hurdler Warren “Monty” Montabone soared onto the world stage in Paris 1924 and then again in Amsterdam 1928. In between Olympic appearances, Monty also set a Canadian record that stood for 58 years in the 110 m hurdles event. His athletic career can be traced beyond the Olympics all the way back to his time as a student athlete at Loyola and as an amateur athlete with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association.

Another athlete who made his Olympic debut in 1924 is Victor Pickard, the pole vaulter and javelin thrower. Pickard represented Canada at two Olympic Games (1924 and 1928) and won a gold medal in pole vaulting at the British Empire Games in 1930. During his athletic career, Pickard’s highest jump at the Olympics was 3.45 m, but his personal best was 4.15 m. Today, the Canadian pole vault record stands at 6.00 m and the world pole vault record stands at 6.24 m.

Two black and white photographs of a male pole vaulter. The first shows a man jumping over a bar with a vaulting pole. The second shows a man holding a vaulting pole horizontally before beginning to run.

Victor Pickard at the 1924 Olympics (a151000) and (a151014).

While every Olympic Games is different, they always guarantee two things: excitement and excellence. Whether that’s through record-breaking performances, making a political statement or rallying around an athlete in need, the Olympics have got something for everyone. The Games have come to symbolize a lot more than just fair play, athleticism, and national identity. They’re a cultural moment. They bring people together in bars, in living rooms, and in schools. They’re history in the making and they’re just getting started.

Additional Resources

Sali Lafrenie is a Portfolio Archivist in the Private Archives Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

Unrevealed Secrets: The 1976 Montréal Olympics

Posted on by
4

Version française

By Brittany Long

The 1960s and 1970s were marked by global turbulence, with terrorist attacks, airplane hijackings, and kidnappings frequently dominating the headlines. Against this backdrop of uncertainty, preparing the security for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montréal posed a monumental challenge for Canadian security agencies. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canadian Armed Forces, and local authorities had to coordinate their efforts to ensure the safety of athletes and spectators from around the world.

A black-and-white photograph of a group dancing in the Montréal Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony at the 1976 Summer Olympics.

Opening ceremony at the Montréal Olympic Games, July 17, 1976. Photo: Paul Taillefer. (e004923376)

Not only was Queen Elizabeth II set to visit and officially open the Games, but Montréal was set to host 6,084 Olympic athletes from 92 different countries. Given the scale of the event, no one wanted a repeat of the tragic events at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where 11 athletes were killed in a terrorist attack.

With the 1976 Summer Olympics taking place during the Cold War, it was crucial to assess possible threats, identify areas of vulnerability, and ensure the security of all venues. Security measures needed to be meticulously planned and kept confidential in the lead-up to and during the Games to protect Canadians, foreign visitors, and athletes. For instance, intensive security plans were required for something as simple as Queen Elizabeth II’s route from her lodging to the venue.

Preparation began months before the event, during which the alert level was at its peak, particularly for departments such as External Affairs, the RCMP, and National Defence. All of the agencies and federal departments involved generated a large legacy of records, which were created in order to maintain the security surrounding the Olympic Games.

Eventually, some of these documents were transferred to Library and Archives Canada (LAC). For example, the Department of External Affairs fonds holds at minimum nine boxes worth of material related to the 1976 Games, while the RCMP fonds holds approximately 170 boxes. Additional records are scattered throughout various other fonds as well.

Black-and-white photo featuring a crowd of people walking down a ramp at the Montréal Olympic Stadium.

Crowds walking down a stadium ramp at the 1976 Montréal Olympics Games. Photo: Paul Taillefer. (e004923378)

Since the documents pertained to security matters, most were classified as confidential, secret, and at times top secret upon their creation and remained classified when transferred to LAC. Many of these documents are still classified almost 50 years after the closing ceremonies of the 1976 Olympics. This creates delays in granting access to these records. Even worse, there is no way to know exactly which records are classified. How is this possible?

Decades ago, recordkeeping and transfer protocols differed significantly. File lists of documents transferred to LAC often lacked any indication of their security classification. As a result, to determine if the Montréal Olympic records remain classified, we first need to identify what we have in our collections about the Games. Once identified, we then need to review the documents to ascertain their classification status—a time-consuming process.

Over the summer and early fall of 2023, we focused on nine boxes of material from the Montréal Olympic Games series in the Department of External Affairs fonds—a relatively small selection of records compared to other series in LAC’s collections. It took days to sift through and analyze the contents of these boxes to determine how much of it remained classified. This review determined that around a third of the files within this one series are still classified.

A black-and-white photo of a group of women dancing in white robes at the closing ceremony of the Montréal Summer Olympics. A man is streaking in the middle of them.

Closing ceremony at the Montréal Olympic Games featuring 500 young women dancing while a male streaker poses among them, August 1, 1976. Photo: Paul Taillefer. (e004923381)

After examining the contents of the boxes and information within the files, an analytical report was compiled. According to the fundamental principle of declassification, only the creator of the records can declassify them. Consequently, the results of our analysis were submitted to the relevant departments for their decision.

The classified records related to the security measures for the 1976 Montréal Olympic Games are not the only ones that remain classified decades after their creation. The declassification section of the Access to Information and Privacy Branch at LAC works closely with other departments to enhance access to historical records for all Canadians. This collaboration aims to unlock more of our collective past and ensure that valuable historical information is accessible to the public.

Additional Resources

Brittany Long is an archivist working on declassification in the Access to Information and Privacy Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

“The Man of Bronze”: Olympic athlete Dr. Phil Edwards

Posted on by
2

Version française

By Dalton Campbell

Dr. Philip Aron “Phil” Edwards earned five Olympic bronze medals in the 1920s and 1930s. It was the most career Olympic medals won by a Canadian athlete to that point and a Canadian record that would stand for 70 years.

Male athletes competing in a race.

Phil Edwards crossing the finish line, 1928 Olympics (a150990)

Nicknamed “The Man of Bronze,” his specialty was the middle distance. He finished on the podium at three Olympic Games: the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics (4 × 400 metre relay), the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics (800 m, 1500 m and 4 × 400 m relay) and the 1936 Berlin Olympics (800 m).

In 1936, he was the inaugural winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian athlete of the year.

Edwards was born in Guyana (then called British Guiana). As a young man, he moved to the United States, studying at New York University and competing in track. But his British citizenship prevented him from joining the U.S. Olympic team. Edwards was invited to join the Canadian Olympic team for the 1928 Games. In 1931, he moved to Canada and enrolled at McGill University, where he joined the track team.

A group of male athletes competing in a race.

Phil Edwards leading the field, 1932 Olympics (a150989)

Edwards was the first Black Canadian to win an Olympic medal. He was one of few Black Canadian Olympians in the first half of the 20th century, along with John Armstrong Howard, Sam Richardson and Ray Lewis, who won bronze with Edwards on the Canadian relay team at the 1932 Olympics.

Edwards had an extraordinary year and a half in 1935–36. He led McGill to a fifth consecutive Canadian university track title in the autumn of 1935. Before the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, he completed his medical studies, becoming one of the first Black graduates from the McGill medical program. The Globe and Mail reported that he was named co-captain and associate physician of the 1936 Canadian Olympic team. At year’s end, he won an unofficial triple crown when he was named Canadian athlete of the year, Canadian amateur athlete of the year and Canadian Press male athlete of the year.

Edwards won bronze in Berlin, where he ran in the face of open racial hostility from Germany’s Nazi government, which saw the Olympic Games as a propaganda showcase for its racist ideas. He was among the Black athletes who won medals, which included U.S. track stars Jesse Owens and Mackenzie “Mack” Robinson, older brother of Jackie Robinson.

On the return trip to Canada, the team was booked in a hotel in London, England. Edwards was refused a room, so the rest of the team decided to leave the hotel and find accommodations where their teammate would be accepted.

Dr. Edwards’ medical specialty was tropical and chest diseases. In 1937, he was appointed resident house surgeon at Barbados General Hospital. He served with the Canadian Army as a captain during the Second World War. After the war, he studied at McGill and practised at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montréal, where he would become head of the parasitology department. He worked with the Red Cross program in Congo in 1960.

Several male athletes competing in a race.

Phil Edwards, second from left, competing at the 1932 Olympics (a150988)

He managed British Guiana’s (now Guyana) Olympic team at the 1956 Olympics, held in Melbourne, Australia.

His record for most Olympic medals by a Canadian—five—was unbeaten for 70 years. In 2002, speed skater Marc Gagnon matched this achievement. In 2006, speed skater Cindy Klassen earned her sixth Olympic medal, breaking the record. In 2010, speed skater and cyclist Clara Hughes also earned a sixth medal.

Edwards died in 1971, just short of his 64th birthday. He was survived by his wife, three daughters and two siblings. The Phil A. Edwards Memorial Trophy, named in his honour, has been awarded annually to the top Canadian track athlete since 1972. In 1997, Dr. Phil Edwards was elected to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Additional resources

  • Photograph of Edwards celebrating with Canadian sprinter Percy Williams, 1928 (a150983)
  • Radio program featuring Edwards, “Trans-Canada Matinee” (ISN 382550)
  • Interview with Edwards and other Canadian athletes, “Crysdale and Company” (ISN 382973)
  • File on Edwards, Stanley Grizzle fonds (MIKAN 3728970)
  • Video of 1932 Olympics (ISN 385532, 331681)
  • Video of 1936 Olympics (ISN 191253, 300159)
  • Highlights of 1932 Olympics (ISN 447089)
  • Footage of 1932 and 1936 Olympics (ISN 300321)
  • Highlights and footage of 1936 Olympics (ISN 191253, 300159, 33542)
  • Rapid Ray: The Story of Ray Lewis, by John Cooper (OCLC 49047597)

Dalton Campbell is an archivist in the Science, Environment and Economy section of the Private Archives Division at Library and Archives Canada.

Anne Heggtveit: A good night’s sleep brings Olympic gold

Posted on by
2

by Dalton Campbell

In 1960, Anne Heggtveit won Canada’s first Olympic gold in alpine skiing.

She was competing in the VIII Olympic Winter Games, in what is now Palisades Tahoe, California. In her first two races, the women’s giant slalom and the downhill, Anne had finished 12th. She said that the evening before the third race, the slalom, the other racers were out trying to familiarize themselves with the course, but she went back to her room to sleep. She thought that if she looked at the course that evening, she would become nervous and probably not sleep well. Her decision was the right one: she finished first, beating the silver medalist by more than 3 seconds, earning the gold in the slalom.

A young woman wearing a winter coat holding a medal in her left hand.

Anne Heggtveit with her Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing, 1960. The medal, at 55 mm in diameter, was one of the smallest awarded at the Winter Games. By comparison, since 2000, the smallest medal awarded at a Winter Olympics has been 85 mm in diameter. (a209759)

Following her extraordinary success at the Olympic Games, she surprised the sports world when she announced her retirement in March 1960. In an interview with the Globe and Mail later that year, she said that she would miss the sport and her friendships, but that she thought the years of preparation for the 1964 Olympics would be too much of an emotional strain. She discussed the importance of balancing confidence and recklessness when skiing. She also said, “When you stand at the top of that course, you can be scared stiff, you can feel you don’t care what happens to you, or you can suddenly feel the perfect mixture of emotions that can help you make a championship run.”

Her retirement, although a shock, was similar to that of her teammate Lucile Wheeler, who retired in 1958 after winning that season’s world slalom and downhill titles. In an interview in 2019 for The Canadian Encyclopedia, Anne described how Lucile had been a trailblazer, as one of the first Canadians to train in Europe. Anne learned from Lucile at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy, where Lucile earned a bronze in the downhill and Anne had three top-30 finishes.

Anne’s 1960 Olympic results also gave her the Fédération internationale de ski (FIS) [International Ski Federation] world gold medal and the gold in Alpine combined. At the time, the FIS did not hold separate championships in Olympic years; instead, it awarded medals based on the Olympic results. This was her second FIS Alpine combined title. She also won in 1959.

In 1960, Anne received the Lou Marsh Award as Canadian athlete of the year and was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Her win was voted Canadian sports story of the year. Her medal was one of only four medals earned by the Canadian team.

Anne had an early start in skiing. Her father, who immigrated to Canada from Norway as a young man, was Canada’s cross-country ski champion in 1934, but was unable to raise money to go to the 1936 Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Anne started skiing when she was two years of age and entered her first competition at five. From the age of 8, her goal was to win the Olympic gold medal.

She twice received the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s female athlete of the year (1959, 1960), was elected to the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1971), and was awarded the Order of Canada (1976). After her retirement, Anne married, started a family and taught skiing, among other pursuits. In 1988, she was an Olympic flag bearer at the Calgary Olympics.

Further research

Dalton Campbell is an archivist in the Science, Environment and Economy Section of the Private Archives Division.

Women’s hockey: She shoots, she scores!

Posted on by
14

Version française

By Ellen Bond

In January 2020, the Canadian men’s team won the gold medal against Russia at the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship. It was a hard-fought competition with millions watching from all over the world. This is any Canadian hockey player’s dream: winning gold at an international championship and hearing your national anthem at the end of the game. Meanwhile, only a few days earlier, Team Canada played against the United States of America (USA) in the 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship with, by comparison, almost no one watching.

Unlike basketball, which has different sized balls, and volleyball, which has different net heights, hockey is the same game for men and women. Yes, women play “non-contact” hockey, but the ice surface is the same, the puck size and weight are the same, and the nets are of equal height, width and depth. Both men and women began playing hockey in its infancy (men in early 1870s and women in 1890s). This begs the question: Why did men’s hockey continue to grow and develop, while women’s hockey had a great start but then failed to gain the same attention?

A black and white photo taken outside with women in long skirts.

A group of women gather to play hockey in 1906, Ottawa, ON (PA-042256)

When I was young, all I wanted to do was play hockey. I remember watching my brother play with lots of other boys out on the ice. They would divide the ice up with long hoses across the blue lines to make up three smaller ice surfaces. I wanted to be out there, but girls were not allowed. That changed in the late 1970s when we moved to Campbellford, Ontario. One day in early fall, a man came to our door and asked my dad if he wanted to coach the girls’ hockey team. He said yes and, at the beginning of grade eight, I started playing organized hockey.

A sepia photo of a girls’ hockey team with Campbellford Minor Hockey written on their sweaters.

My championship team the first year I was allowed to play hockey. My dad is on the right and my brother is kneeling in front of him. I’m in the top row, third from the left. (Photo supplied by the author.)

This made me wonder: If women, like men, started to play hockey in the late 1800s, why wasn’t I allowed to play hockey prior to our move to Campbellford, when we had lived in a moderately large city?

A black and white photo of a woman dressed in a skirt to play hockey outside.

“Queen of the Ice.” A woman stands on ice wearing figure skates and holding a hockey stick, 1903. (C-3192610)

The Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) claims the first women’s hockey game took place in 1891 in Ottawa, Ontario. At this time, the University of Toronto (U of T), Queen’s University and McGill University had women’s hockey teams, but they had to compete behind closed doors. Men couldn’t watch and the only men allowed inside were the referees. In 1914, the first women’s provincial championship took place in Picton, Ontario. There were six teams involved, including some of the university teams. In 1921, U of T defeated McGill to win the first Canadian women’s university championship. These teams and others helped the game grow steadily but unevenly in the 1920s and 1930s.

Then women’s hockey just stopped growing. Maybe it was because hockey was “too rough for girls,” as Clarence Campbell, President of the National Hockey League, argued in 1946. Maybe it was because communities prohibited people from watching women play hockey. Maybe it was because of beliefs that watching women play hockey was too frivolous or that women took the game too seriously. Or maybe, as Wayne Norton suggests in his book Women on Ice: The Early Years of Women’s Hockey in Western Canada, it was because in 1923 the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) voted NOT to give women official recognition as hockey players. In their book, Too Many Men on the Ice: Women’s Hockey in North America, Joanna Avery and Julie Stevens propose that Canada’s participation in the Second World War led to the decline of women’s hockey. Many women took on factory jobs when the majority of men went to fight in the war, leaving them little time to play the game. Whatever the reason, for decades it was hard for women to play a beloved game and this meant that many girls and women never had the opportunity to play hockey.

A black and white photo of a woman as a professional hockey player.

Miss Eva Ault. When men headed to Europe in the First World War, women got their first chance to play professional hockey. Eva Ault became a fan favourite, but when the war ended so did the careers of the first female pros. (PA-043029)

A black and white photo of a women’s hockey team lined up with the butt end of their sticks on the ground and dressed in their team uniform.

Women’s hockey team from Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, 1921. Names available in the record. (PA-074583)

I had the opportunity to play hockey from grades eight to thirteen, both in my community and at my high school in Peterborough, Ontario. I was also fortunate to have varsity teams to play on at McMaster and Queen’s universities. This was the closest I ever got to playing professional hockey. We were provided with equipment, ice time for practices and games, and transportation to all our games. At McMaster the entire budget for our team was less than the men’s team spent on sticks alone, but I had the chance to play varsity hockey for my university and to play with and against some of the best players in the world.

Two of those players were Margot (Verlaan) Page and Andria Hunter. Both of these athletes wore the Team Canada jersey at World Championships. I played with Margot for three years at McMaster. She was our captain and the best player out on the ice. At the time, this was the highest level of hockey Margot could play. She went on to play for Canada at the IIHF World Championships in 1987 (not sanctioned), 1990, 1992 and 1994. From 2000–2007 Margot coached Canada’s IIHF and Olympic women’s hockey teams. Margot is now Head Coach of the Brock Badgers Women’s Varsity Ice Hockey Team. Andria and I knew each other from living in Peterborough and because I was a counsellor at Camp Quin-Mo-Lac when she was a camper. Living in a small town, our paths crossed numerous times. I asked Andria what it was like when she first played hockey. Here is her story, in her own words.

I first started playing hockey in 1976. At that time, it was not very common for females to play. I was fortunate to play in Peterborough when girls’ hockey was just taking off. There were many small towns that had no female hockey at all at that time. I played in a boy’s house league my first year, but after that I was always able to play girls’ hockey.

When I was a kid, it was always my dream to play university hockey, because that was the highest level at the time; there was no national team, and certainly no World Championship or Olympics. I was very fortunate that some major changes in women’s hockey happened at an ideal time for me. I went on to play university hockey in the USA on a hockey scholarship; I was one of the first international female players to receive a women’s hockey scholarship in the USA. I also had the opportunity to play for Team Canada in 1992 and in 1994! I have always thought that if I had been born just five years earlier, I may have missed these amazing experiences.

I played at the University of Toronto as a graduate student between 1990 and 1996. During these years, the program went through a tumultuous period of transition. In 1990, our team kept our equipment in a small locker and our games were only three fifteen-minute periods with one flood. Then, during the 1993–94 season (when I was away from U of T playing hockey in Switzerland), the women’s hockey program was almost cancelled. There was a big rally that helped to keep the program alive. When I returned from Switzerland the next year to play for U of T again, women’s hockey had been upgraded to a high-performance sport. We now had two-hour practices four days a week, and no longer had to keep our equipment in a storage locker!

I played in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) when it was in its infancy. We had an enthusiastic owner when I played for the Mississauga Ice Bears who arranged for us to play at the Hershey Centre [now the Paramount Centre] and we even had our own dressing room there. Unfortunately, we just did not get enough fans to allow us to play in such an expensive venue so, after two seasons, the team moved to Oakville.

Since my retirement from the NWHL in 2001, women’s hockey has continued to grow. It is certainly much more socially acceptable for females to play [now] than it was when I was a kid. The skill level has increased, as players get more development opportunities. The quality of the coaching, the level of competition, and the amount of ice time at the grassroots level, are certainly contributing factors. The number of teams at the university level in both Canada and the USA and the amount of resources for these players has continued to increase as well. It is unfortunate that women’s hockey still struggles to attract fans and that there are limited professional opportunities for women’s hockey players today. Fortunately, there are an increasing number of employment opportunities for women in coaching positions.

A black and white photo of a women’s hockey team. The women have team sweaters on and are holding their hockey sticks.

Team portrait of Queen’s University women’s hockey team, 1917. Some names are available in the record. (PA-127274)

Like Andria says, girls today have many opportunities to play hockey. Teams are available in many communities across Canada. Girls can aspire to play varsity hockey at many Canadian universities, to play in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, and to play in many European countries. They can dream about playing for their country at the Olympics and in the World Championships. Elite players from Canada and the USA played 3-on-3 games during the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis, Missouri, showing their skills to million of fans. As the game continues to grow, competition between countries will increase and maybe the NHL will offer a women’s professional league to play in. The future is bright for the young girls of today who yearn to play hockey. Margot, Andria and I gained many life lessons from playing hockey growing up and we are so excited for the girls of today and the opportunities that await them playing the great game of hockey.

Ellen Bond is a project assistant with the Online Content Team at Library and Archives Canada

To be the best on snow and ice: Documenting Canada’s achievements at the Olympics

Posted on by
Reply

The Sochi 2014 Games mark 90 years of Canadian athletes representing their country on the Winter Olympic stage. Canadians have competed in all Winter Olympics, starting with the first Games in Chamonix in 1924. Canada is also part of a handful of countries that have won medals at every Winter Games.

Library and Archives Canada holds a rich collection documenting memorable Canadian performances at the Games, the athletes behind these achievements, and the historical development of winter Olympic sports disciplines in Canada.

The Canadian Olympians site provides a visual history of Canada’s participation in the Games. It consists of more than 10,000 images of athletes who participated in the Winter and Summer Olympics, from the early 1900s through 2004.

Find out more about the following winter sports:

Use the Archives Search tool to discover many historical documents and images by using keywords such as athletes, sports, Olympics or medals. Here are some examples of what you may find on our website:

Canada's Nancy Greene (top) celebrates her gold medal win in the giant slalom alpine ski event at the 1968 Grenoble winter Olympics. (CP Photo/COA).

Canada's Marc Gagnon competes in the speed skating event at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics. (CP PHOTO/ COA).

See also:

  • Our Flickr album on this subject
  • The Fitness and Amateur Sport records, which contain over 40,000 photographs documenting the performance of Canadian athletes at national and international competitions, including the Olympics

Enjoy the Sochi Games!

Discover Canada’s Olympic and Sports History – Part II

Posted on by
Reply

Do the London Olympics inspire you to learn more about the history of the evolution of sports in Canada?  If so, a great place to begin your research is at Library and Archives Canada. We hold the records of the national bodies for the following sports:

You will also find more information in the Fitness and Amateur Sport Branch records of the former Department of National Health and Welfare (now Health Canada); this is the main source for learning about the federal government’s involvement in the area of sports. It includes over 40,000 photographs documenting the performance of Canadian athletes at national and international competitions (including the Olympics) during the 1960s and 1970s.

For more information on sports, please visit our other websites:

Please remember that not all of our material is available online; however, it is possible to order archival material through our online Request for Retrieval of Documents Form, or by telephone at 613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777 (toll-free).

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

Discover Canada’s Olympic and Sports History – Part I

Posted on by
Reply

With the London Olympics well underway, it is fitting to remember the past Canadian accomplishments at the Games and to get acquainted with Canada’s relationship with sports throughout history.

For those interested in a visual history of Canada’s participation at the Olympic Games, Library and Archives Canada’s (LAC) Canadian Olympians database and web pages consist of more than 10,000 images of athletes from the 1904 St. Louis Olympics in the United States to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Some of the early important events in Canada’s Olympic history documented at LAC.

*For more information on George Hodgson and other athletes, visit Sporting Lives: Images of Canadian Athletes (archived site).

Please remember that not all of our material is available online; however, it is possible to order archival material through our online Request for Retrieval of Documents Form, or by telephone at 613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777 (toll-free).

For more photographs from past Olympics, visit our Images of summer sports and leisure activities Flickr set.

Enjoy the London Games!

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!