Canada at the Olympics
Canada has been in almost all of the Summer Games since they first were represented in the 1900 Summer Games in Paris, France. Ronald MacDonald represented Canada in the marathon while George Orton ran the hurdles and steeplechase.
George Orton, who came with the US delegation to the Games, made history by being the first to bring home an Olympic medal to Canada. Orton won not one, but two Olympic medals. He took the bronze for the men's 400 meter hurdles and the gold in the men's 2500 meter steeplechase.
The 1900 Summer Games also set a trend for Canada as one of the consistent medal winners because from their very first outing, Canadian athletes have won Olympic medals except in 1980 when Canada participated in the US-led boycott of the Moscow Games. Canada has also won gold medals in every Summer Games except in 1924, 1948 and 1972. Canada has indeed established itself as one of the perennial powerhouse of the Summer Games.
The story is not that much different for the Winter Games. Canada has been a part of the Winter Games since 1924. As a matter of fact, they have never been absent from the Winter Games since their debut. In 1924, the Canadian ice hockey team took the top spot in Chamonix, France establishing a strong precedence for Canada.
As with the Summer Games, Canada is also one of the top countries in the Winter Games winning Olympic medals in every outing and in 2010, Canada put up their best performance yet in the Winter Games. They not only hosted the Games but they also dominated the scoreboard earning the highest gold medal count of all of the participating countries. It was also their highest medal count in any Winter Games since their debut with a total of 26 medals, 14 of which are gold.
Trivia
- Canada have hosted the summer Olympic Games only once, in Montreal 1976, though they have hosted the Winter Games twice, in Calgary in 1988 and Vancouver in 2010.
- Now a province of Canada, Newfoundland has a brief Olympic past.
- At the 1924 Olympics, Canadian William Barnes won silver in team trap shooting, while his son Rolph Barnes ran the 1500m the same year.
- Lacrosse has been on the official Olympic program twice, in 1904 and 1908, with a team from Canada winning both times.
- The first Black Canadian athlete to win an Olympic medal was Raymond "Rapid Ray" Lewis. He won a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay during the 1932 Olympic Games in LA.
- In 1988, Canadian Ben Johnson beat Carl Lewis in the 100-meter dash with a world-record time of 9.79 seconds. Shortly thereafter, he tested positive for steroid use and was stripped of his medal.
- Canadian show jumper Ian Millar made a record-breaking 10th Olympic appearance in London 2012. He competed in the equestrian competition at every Olympics from 1972 to 2012 except for the 1980 Moscow Games that Canada boycotted.
Related Pages
- More trivia from each Country at the Olympic Games
- Montreal Olympic Games 1976
- Canada at the Winter Olympics.
- About Sport in Canada
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