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Nicknamed The Big Train, Lionel Conacher might be the least known athlete on this list, despite having a national award named after him. In 2004, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. He was later dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World.. The sport was dominated by Europeans at the time but Greene managed to clench the title, and went on the more glory including Olympic gold. French is also the first official language spoken by 22 per cent of the Canadian population. McBean, one of Canada's most decorated Olympians, and Heddle captured the gold in the coxless pair at Barcelona 1992 and followed it up with gold in the double sculls at Atlanta 1996. Longo's professional racing career started in 1979. He also won a gold medal at the 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton. Ferguson Jenkins Hometown: Chatham, Ontario. They made little Inuvik a hotbed of ski talent. Crosby has been a household name in Canada since he was a young teenager, as he dominated every age group. He spent five years inside the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings, sandwiched around his historic Masters win in 2003. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Nicknamed Tiger (well before the golfer! Not the athlete with the most titles under his belt or the most trophies to show off, but rather Fox is remembered as a great Canadian athlete due to his amazing bravery in the face of something terrifying. Harold Ballard was made an inductee of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1977 and 1987 respectively. Guy Carleton (1724-1808) Sir Guy (later the Baron Dorchester) was an early and important British governor of the new English colony of Quebec, serving from 1768-1778 and then 1786-1796.He oversaw the implementation of the Quebec Act (1774), which aimed to create social peace with the French-Canadians while still asserting English political control. Hundreds of thousands came out to celebrate and in 1950, Rosenfeld was named Canada's female athlete of the first half of the century. Army Howard Army Howard competes in the 4th round of the 100m at the Inter-Allied Games at the Pershing Stadium in Paris in July 1919. Angela Frances Chalmers, world-class distance runner from Birdtail Sioux First Nation (born 6 September 1963 in Brandon, MB).Chalmers is one of the most accomplished Indigenous athletes in Canada. Basketball runs in the Parker family. He refused to take his salary as a Member of Parliament under Wilfrid Laurier and challenged the imperialist tendencies in the cabinet. The first of five hockey players on the list is also the most obvious. The list features athletes from a wide variety of sports and eras. Once in Qubec City, she met Marie-Madeleine de Chauvigny de la Peltrie, founder of the Ursulines in Qubec. He also won a gold medal at the 1981 Pacific Conference Games and at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. In 1970, then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed Casgrain to the Canadian Senate. Here are the Top 10 Canadian athletes in the world today. 1. You could debate about which male hockey player on this list is the best, but theres not much doubt that Hayley Wickenheiser is the greatest female hockey player in history. She's a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, the IIHF Hall of Fame and is currently the Assistant Director of Player Development for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Posted on Published: November 16, 2021- Last updated: January 6, 2023. Cave's death came four days after he had emergency surgery to remove a colloid cyst, which the Canadian Press reports was putting pressure on his brain . Later, she likely worked as a nurse at a hospital in her hometown. The 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, women were allowed to compete in track and field for the first time and the Canadian women headed straight to the podium. Whether it was her dominant gold medal victory in the giant slalom at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics (she won by a whopping 2.68 seconds!) In 1979, he wasinductedintothe National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. His best-known role was Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride in 1987. One of the most beautiful and glamorous female tennis player, Genie Bouchard may not be ranked amongst top 10greatest Canadian athletes right now, but she deserve the honorable spot here. She died in 1981, leaving a powerful legacy of championing the rights of women and the underprivileged. ), if Nancy Greene pounced, there wasn't much her competition could do about it. He then established himself as one of the top hockey and boxing referees of his generation. Gold at home in Vancouver 2010 and a repeat four years later in Russia. An artists essay became a call-to-arms for social change. Access KelownaNow using your Facebook account, or by entering your information below. At 26 years old, Raonic is in the prime of his career, so look for him to be a major player on the ATP tour in the future. Two-time national champion and retired Canadian figure skater Nam Nguyen has also been a World Junior Champion in 2014. He defended his world title eight times before coming out of four-year retirement to win the middleweight world title in 2017. Here we profile the ultimate fighter for clean sport and a woman who changes the conversation around ability. This International Womens Day, lets celebrate some of Canada's female heroes of the past and not-so distant past. See also; 10 Highest Paid Athletes in the world. To celebrate Canadas 150th anniversary, KelownaNow is shining a light on our amazing country. Steve Nashs stature may not immediately make you regard him as an amazing basketball player, but you know what they say about judging books by their covers. In the early 2000s, he spent the majority of his time in the top ten rankings and brought a major golf title to Canada for the first time ever when he won the Masters in 2003. After a spinal cord injury at 15, he became a paraplegic. She became a member of the Socit Notre-Dame de Montral and obtained funding from benefactor Anglique Bullion to establish a hospital on the island of Montral. All rights reserved. Overall, Wickenheiser's played in six Olympic Games. Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a former football star who played as an attacking midfielder. Widely regarded as Canadas top female athlete of the 20th century, Greene was a trailblazer for female Canadian athletes. Harold Ballard was a Canadian sportsman and businessman. The grandson of Patriote Louis-Joseph Papineau, Bourassa was an independent thinker who became a political model for his generation and the next. 1. Jamaican-born Canadian bobsledder Lascelles Brown is an Olympic silver medalist and a former World Champion. Three-time Olympian Canadian track and field athlete and bobsledder Phylicia George is also an Olympic bronze medalist in the two-woman bobsleigh category. In the unpredictable world of bobsleigh, Humphries - the top driver in the world - was looking for every little edge to be the best. Named the Female Athlete of the First Half-Century by Canada, she also excelled in hockey, apart from track and field. Gordie Howe Louis-Joseph Papineau PATRIOTE LEADER AND POLITICIAN Louis-Joseph Papineau had a reputation as a hero and a defender of the rights of French Canadians, but he was also seen as a traitor to the nation and to the Commonwealth. He also won the French national championship in the 5000-meter race, thus qualifying him for the Olympic Games in Antwerp in 1920. She also set Canadian womens records in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly. Get exclusive content you wont find in our magazines. Early Years. They learned the sport from a French priest on borrowed skis from a U.S. Army base and eventually a small nordic team was formed. While he has yet to win a Grand Slam tournament, he did reach his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2016, and reached the semi-finals at both the 2016 Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2014. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin 22/35 Rachel McAdams This Mean Girl was born in London, Ontario. A native of Smith Falls, Ontario, Henderson also represented Canada at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Fiction Feature: Its Manitoba in 1888. Despite the poor showing of Canadian teams during this past hockey season, right now is a pretty exciting time for Canadian athletes. Jessica Biel (born 1982), American actress with distant French roots. The 167 goals puts her second all-time in international goals scored, behind American Abby Wambach. 4 Biathlon. Olympic gold medalist Canadian athlete Fanny Bobbie Rosenfeld earned the nickname Bobbie for the bob cut she sported. 50.97, Ethel Smith is the most famous Canadian Athlete. An advocate for Indigenous issues, Chalmers has made efforts to connect with and inspire . There are parks and lakes and mountain peaks and streets and buildings named after her. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Vote for Your Favourite Canadian Athletes, (Actor and Athlete Known for His Role as Tonto in the TV Series The Lone Ranger), (Canadian Sprinter Who was the World's Fastest Man During the 1987-88 Season), (Canadian Soccer Player Who Plays as a Forward), (Onondaga Athlete Who Specialized in Distance Running), (Canadian Track and Field Athlete (Paralympic Games)), (Canadian Former Race Horse Jockey Who won the 'US Triple Crown' in 1973), (Former Canadian Figure Skater and 2-Time National Champion), (Canadian Long-Distance Runner and Olympic Silver Medalist), (Canadian Sprinter, Former World Champion, and 2-Time Olympic Medalist), (Canadian Athlete and Winner of the 100 and 200 Metres Races at the 1928 Summer Olympics), (Canadian Athlete and Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist), (Former Canadian Track and Field Athlete and Olympic Gold Medalist), (Canadian Athlete, Olympic Gold Medalist, and a Pioneer in Women's Sports), (Canadian Track and Field Athlete, Bobsledder, and Olympic Medalist), (Jamaican-Born Canadian Bobsledder and Olympic Silver Medalist), (Track and Field Athlete Who Specialized in Middle Distance Events), (Canadian Athlete Who Was the First Non-US Olympic Gold Medalist in 100m Hurdles). He has won two silver medals and three bronze medals in two Olympic Games so far. Stefanie Reid has also won a gold medal at the 2014 European Championships and 2017 World Championships. The list is made up from athletes whose skills are undeniable, as well as their place within their respective sport and their representation of Canada. What else needs to be said? He was the inspiration for the 1998 movie My Giant. Rachel Homan is a Canadian professional curler best known for winning the gold medal at the 2017 World Curling Championships. He is also the program assistant of Canadas History Society. With so many trailblazers in this country, this list could run off the page. Sharon Firth said: "The world was so fascinated by us skinny indian girls and boys and how we danced on skis. Top 10 Female Athletes [ edit] Nancy Greene (born 1943), skier Silken Laumann (born 1964), rower Barbara Ann Scott (1928-2012), figure skater Myriam Bdard (born 1969), biathlon Marnie McBean (born 1968), rower Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld (1904-1969), track-and-field (voted female athlete of the first half of the century) The first Olympic Winter Games took place in 1924 in Chamonix, France.Canada's first female Winter Olympian was 15-year-old Cecil Smith, who finished sixth in the women's figure skating competition and seventh in the pairs competition with Melville Rogers. Born in Montral in 1896, Casgrain was the daughter of businessman and politician Sir Rodolphe Forget and Lady Blanche MacDonald. Mark McKoy is a three-time Commonwealth champion, having won gold medals at the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games. Not only does Clara Hughes have six Olympic medals to her name, shes one of two athletes since Second World War to win medals in both the Summer and Winter Games. He also won the 4x100m relay at the 2018 NACAC Championships. Canadians may remember the iconic image of her skating around the Salt Lake City Oval with a Canada flag in her hand and a black stetson on her head. She's got her eyes on a fourth Games in Tokyo this summer. Cecil Smith, her sister Maude "Jim" Smith, and Constance Wilson competed for Canada in figure skating at the 1928 . This International Women's Day, let's celebrate some of Canada's female heroes of the past and not-so distant past. by Throughout the years, hundreds of Canadian athletes have made their mark on the world of sport and represented Canada at the highest level. Victor Davis, Guelph Andre De Grasse, Scarborough / Markham Lori Dupuis, Cornwall Dave Edge (born 1954), British-Canadian Olympic long-distance runner Terry Farnsworth (born 1942), Olympic judoka Mark Fawcett, Nelson, British Columbia Shaul Gordon (born 1994), Canadian-Israeli Olympic sabre fencer Jeannie Longo's athletic career began in her hometown in the French Alps. Canadian athlete Earl Thomson, or Tommy Thomson, scripted history as the first non-American to win a 110m hurdles Olympic gold medal. Steve Nash Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa (immigrated to Regina, Saskatchewan then Victoria, B.C.). Canada men's national junior ice hockey team, List of members of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, "Buzz builds over Burlington hoops phenom Simisola Shittu", "Negro Scores Win Before 5,000 Fans; Berger is Victor", "Jewish youngster opens Toronto tennis center", Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association, Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Canadian_sports_personalities&oldid=1141790586, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Alison Hart, daughter of Stu and Helen married Canadian wrestler, Brooke B. Hart, daughter of Alison Hart and Ben Bassarab married, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 20:36. Hughes is known for her athletic achievements as well as her humanitarian work. She won the French road race Championship that same year. A cyclist and a speed skater, she set records for not only Canadians, but athletes from all over the world. Without a doubt, Canadas greatest basketball player. Canadian Olympic School Program: Black History Collection. Five years later, he received his first players license. Perhaps no other name in the history of French sports is more popular today than Lacoste. At the time of his retirement, Gretzky held 61 NHL records. He continues to inspire countless Canadians after all these years. This article originally appeared in the April-May 2017issue ofCanadas History. She won three gold medals in total at the Commonwealth Games in 1990 and 1994. He hasnt left the sport entirely, playing for charity and coaching after his retirement. Samir Hussein 23/35 Michael Bubl Born in Burnaby, British Columbia, the crooner is one of Canada's most. He has won World Championship gold medals with Canada at both the Junior (2015) and Senior (2016) level. As the captain of Canadas hockey team, Philip-Poulin has led her team to two Olympic gold medals plus a silver medal. Given the popularity of hockey in Canada, its only fitting a hockey player tops this list of the Top 10 Canadian Athletes. She later stepped down as head of the WADA athlete's committee, but not before making sure a charter of rights for athletes was approved for entry into the WADA archives. France is most noted for its amazing breads, cheeses, and wines; art, architecture, and fashion; and of course, its fabulous destinations. Alexandre Lippmann, French fencer (pe), Olympic champion. Klassen won five medals for Team Canada, despite the fact that there are far less medals available in the Winter Games. In 2019, she already has two top-10 finishes under her belt and in 2018 she became the first Canadian woman to win the Canadian Women's Open in 45 years.