The image shows Myrtle Cook of Canada winning a preliminary heat in the women's 100m race at the VIIIth Summer Olympic Games. Image source: Wikimedia Commons.
Myrtle Cook, born in Toronto, Ontario was one of 7 women to represent Canada in the 1928 summer Olympics in Amsterdam. She was a 100 metre sprinter and was a member of the women’s 4 x 100 relay team that won the gold medal.
These Olympics marked the first time that women were permitted to compete in Track and Field events at the Olympic games. It was also the first time that women were included as part of the Canadian summer Olympic team, which broke one of the gender barriers for women in sport.
Born in Saskatchewan, Hayley Wickenheiser was a member of the Canadian women’s national hockey team and represented Canada at five Olympic games.
She is one of a small group of athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, competing in Softball in the 2000 summer games.
She is the first woman to play full time in the National Hockey League, the NHL, in a position other than the goaltender, where she scored two goals in her first season.
Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was an avid distance runner. After being diagnosed with cancer while in high school his right leg was amputated. While undergoing treatment he witnessed the pain and suffering of others who were also being treated for various cancers and decided he wanted to inspire others.
He embarked on his Marathon of Hope in April of 1980, seeking to raise money for cancer research, running the equivalent of a marathon a day. He was forced to end his run in Thunder Bay, Ontario when his cancer was found to have returned.
Terry Fox passed away shortly afterward but left a legacy of hope, making him a national hero and sparking cancer fundraising efforts in communities across Canada and internationally through annual Terry Fox runs that occur across the globe.
Snowshoeing was introduced to Europeans by our Aboriginal peoples as a means to effectively transport furs and other goods across the snowy terrain. The first official snowshoe club for recreational purposes was founded in Montreal, Canada in 1843 and by 1880 it became a popular winter activity. Currently there are more than 70 clubs across Canada and it is a popular winter activity for all generations.
Similarly, cross country skiing was introduced in Canada in the late eighteen hundreds and became popular as a recreational activity in 1927 when the Canadian Pacific Railway introduced Laurentian Ski trains that provided access to an extensive trail network. By 1970 it had become a favourite activity for fitness enthusiasts and in present day is a popular winter activity for more than 3.5 million Canadians.
Tom Longboat was born in 1887 of the Six Nation of the Grand River in Brantford Ontario. Tom Longboat was a gifted and dominant long distance runner during the early 1900s, competing and dominating in every race from the mile to the marathon, at one point holding every Canadian record, including setting a new course record in the 1907 Boston Marathon.
He enlisted in the army during World War One and became a dispatch carrier, using his athletic ability to run messages between military camps. Taking his place in sport history, schools, races and scholarships bear his name and represent his legacy to Canadian sport.