Whether it was donating to Right to Play or breaking down the stigma around mental illness in Bell's "Let's Talk" campaign, she's a champion through and through. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. He also won a gold medal at the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Given the overwhelming reasons to be proud of our nations athletic output, what better time to look at the all time great athletes Canada hasgiven the sports world. He spent five years inside the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings, sandwiched around his historic Masters win in 2003. However, the most impressive thing about Oleksiak may be that shes only 16 years of age; more medals and accolades appear to be in her future. With so many trailblazers in this country, this list could run off the page. She moved on to ski cross in Sochi 2014 and was predicted to be in the medal hunt at PyeongChang 2018 until she broke both legs in a World Cup event just before the Games. In 1910 he founded the newspaper Le Devoir to share his perspective. 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. Lou Marsh was a Canadian athlete who participated in a wide variety of sports during his playing career. 1 Georges St-Pierre (One of the Greatest Fighters in the History of Mixed Martial Arts) 37 21 Listed In: Sportspersons Birthdate: May 19, 1981 Sun Sign: Taurus Height: 5'10" (178 cm) 2 Glenn Ford (One of the Most Prominent Actors During Hollywood's Golden Age) 70 12 Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities Birthdate: May 1, 1916 Sun Sign: Taurus Melissa Benoist, American actress, of partial French descent through paternal great-grandfather. Nancy Greene Widely regarded as Canada's top female athlete of the 20th century, Greene was a trailblazer for female Canadian athletes. Born in Montral in 1786, he grew up at his family's estate and studied law. Post-retirement, she worked as a sports columnist and coach. Two different events. A true family affair. In the 1920s, she helped found the Provincial Franchise Committee for Womens Suffrage and began fighting for the right for women to vote provincially in Qubec a battle that would last more than two decades before victory was achieved. Similarly to Andre De Grasse, Penny Oleksiak used the 2016 Summer Olympics as a means to catapult herself to the forefront of her sport. Starting off our list we have Andrew Wiggins, the professional basketball player from the NBAs Minnesota Timberwolves. Canadas National History Society acknowledges that we meet and work across the ancestral lands of many Indigenous peoples: First Nations, Inuit, and Mtis. Those include Sidney Crosby, Milos Raonic, Penny Oleksiak and Andre de Grasse, just to name a few. She ran the anchor leg for Jane Bell, Ethel Smith and Myrtle Cook as Canada won gold in the inaugural 4x100-metre relay. Their homecoming to Toronto was nuts. He also won the 4x100m relay at the 2018 NACAC Championships. He won gold twice at the 1996 games and was the record-holder for the 100m sprint. And the rest is history. Edmonton basketball stars Michelle and Katherine Plouffe captured gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games, in between representing Canada at back-to-back Olympic Games. Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld was the premiere sprinter of the Games. In 1980, Ron Turcotte was elected as a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Born in 1606 to a bourgeois family in Langres in northwest France, Jeanne Mance founded Montrals first hospital. Canadians have never been the strongest contenders in the summer Olympics, but for an entire generation of Canadian children, Donovan Bailey represented the height of Canadian pride. Previously, she had won the bronze medal and the silver medal at the 2013 and 2014 World Curling Championships respectively. Vote for Your Favourite People Born In Quebec, (One of the Greatest Fighters in the History of Mixed Martial Arts), (One of the Most Prominent Actors During Hollywood's Golden Age), (Film Director, Screenwriter, Playwright), (Canadian TV and Film Actor and Voice Actor), (Canadian Artist Who Held a Guinness World Record for His Full-Body Tattoos), (Canadian Voice Actor, Illustrator, Blogger, and Former Animator), (American Designer of Firearms Who Created the 'M1 Garand', a Semi-automatic Rifle), (German Actress, Comedian, Television Presenter, and Voice Actress), (Vlogger and Host of the Popular YouTube Show 'Epic Meal Time'), (Mixed martial artist, Taekwondo athlete), (Canadian Writer, Novelist, Poet, and Playwright). She has been tireless in advocating for fitness and an active lifestyle and at 76 years old, she's still carving turns. Christine Sinclair is a Canadian soccer player who plays for the Canadian national team as a forward. She's an advocate for persons with disabilities and has served as Canada's chef de mission for the 2016 Rio Paralympic team and the 2014 Commonwealth Games team. This International Women's Day, let's celebrate some of Canada's female heroes of the past and not-so distant past. Canada's greatest wheelchair racer of all-time blazes trails wherever her career takes her - as an athlete, advocate or politician. Moyse chose to push for next-generation pilot, Alyssa Rissling. A long-time member of the Canadian national team, Sinclair currently has the 2nd most international goals in female soccer history. Gretzky played twenty seasons in the NHL between 1979 and 1999, and despite being retired for more than twenty years, he still holds just about every offensive record there is. Similarly to Wiggins, Connor McDavid is a young superstar taking his sport by storm. Crosbys dominance has continued since then, as he has captained the Penguins to 2 Stanley Cup championships, won 2 Hart trophies (NHL MVP), 2 Art Ross trophies (NHL scoring title), and a Conn Smythe trophy (playoff MVP). Article Angela Chalmers. He is best known for his performance in the 1984 Olympic Games, where he won two bronze medals. Donnie Wahlberg. Sinclair serves as the captain of the national team and is Canada's all-time leader in caps (247) and goals (167). Wayne Gretzky Hometown: Brantford, Ontario. 3 Badminton. At her first Olympics at London 2012, George made the 100 hurdles final, finishing sixth. Previously dominated by the Europeans, Greene took over in 1967 winning the inaugural World Cup and seven out of 16 events on the circuit that year. 2 Donovan Bailey Armand Mouyal, French fencer (pe), national champion Claude Netter, French fencer (foil), Olympic champion Christian d'Oriola, French Olympic and World Champion, named "Fencer of the 20th Century" by the FIE, International Fencing Federation, in 2001. He is deemed one of the worlds greatest athletes. 2 Association football. Makes sense, considering the countrys climate and geography. But not all of us are George Chuvalo. 2016 may have been an even better year for De Grasse. Hi, Im Christine a full-time traveler and career woman. Drouin also won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, and won 5 NCAA titles while competing for the Indiana Hoosiers. 30 Famous Francophones Updated by Celine Cooper To celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2015, The Canadian Encyclopedia created 30 lists of 30 things that make us proud to be Canadian, from famous people and historic events, to iconic foods and influential artists. Genre: Pop Listen to: Pour toi Check her out here! This resulted in unrest leading to the Lower Canada Rebellion of 183738. He won a Grey Cup, a Memorial Cup, two Stanley Cups and even a baseball championship in the International League. 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. In 1942, she ran for federal election as a Liberal and lost. Lemieuxs career was ultimately shortened by injury, a mid-career retirement and even cancer, but number 66 is still considered one of the most talented and influential players to ever play the game. And that wasn't the end of it. Posted on Published: November 16, 2021- Last updated: January 6, 2023. Called the greatest hockey player of all time by many and its unlikely hell lose that title anytime soon. 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. Had it not been for some bizarre and unfortunate Olympic qualifying rules and domestic standards,they would have competed at Tokyo 2020 in the debut of 3-on-3 basketball and been a medal favourite. She returned to her first love of speed skating in 2002, winning medals in three straight Winter Olympics. At that point, Greene had already won several high-profile events in Canada and The States. Four years later, she made the hurdles final once again and helped the 4x100 relay team to sixth-place finish. More common known as GSP, Georges St. Pierre was a large factor in turning the UFC from a marginally watched sport into the powerhouse it is today. She was 15 when she began training in hurdles. When they were six, their whole community was up and moved to Inuvik. Raonic is undoubtedly the best Canadian mens tennis player today, evidenced by the fact he has been named Tennis Canadas male player of the year every year since 2011. He continues to inspire countless Canadians after all these years. Henri Bourassa, born in 1868 in Montral, had a significant impact on Canadian politics through his nationalist position, which still resonates today. Desai Williams was a Canadian sprinter best remembered for winning a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. If you don't already know these athletes, you should. Obviously the diamond took a back seat to the ice as she went on to the most prolific career in women's hockey. Between Shirley and Sharon, they won 48 Canadian championships. George-tienne Cartiers vision of a Canada that combined the British and French nations was the basis for the creation of our modern country. At 7 feet and 4 inches tall, which was a result of acromegaly, Andr Ren Roussimoff was better known by his fitting ring name Andr the Giant., Roussimoff started his wrestling career in 1966, relocating to North America five years later and consequently becoming a mainstay of World Wrestling Federation (then called World Wide Wrestling Federation or WWWF), where he easily became a fan favorite. She won the French road race Championship that same year. The title of Worlds Greatest Athlete has often been reserved for the best decathlete in the world, as the sport requires all-around ability in a variety of running, throwing, and jumping events. He is also a former Commonwealth Champion and a 2-time World Champion. He then established himself as one of the top hockey and boxing referees of his generation. Candice Quigley You can help make our past relevant, engaging, empowering and accessible. Cindy Klassen Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba. Candice Quigley Georges St Pierre may not be as well known as some of the other athletes on this list, but among combat sports fans, hes a legend. She is an Olympic gold-medalist and 13-time world champion who also competed in track bicycle racing events. They were 19-year-old pups when they represented Canada in London 2012 and veterans when the team finished seventh in Rio 2016. Nicknamed The Big Train, Lionel Conacher might be the least known athlete on this list, despite having a national award named after him. 7 Curling. After being elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, Papineau became the leader of the Parti Canadien, which later became the Patriote party. His career in athletics started during World War I, winning the national cross-country championships of the French military. Aside from the Masters, Weir had seven other PGA Tour victories between 1999 and 2007. In 2001, he became part of NBAs San Antonio Spurs team as a pointguard and went on to become a 4-time NBA champion. Getty/Tim Clayton-Corbis As Insider reported, 23-year-old Osaka, the No. He also won a gold medal at the 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton. Mike Weir was one of the first Canadians to achieve success at the highest level in golf. Ferguson Jenkins Hometown: Chatham, Ontario. Canadian athlete Earl Thomson, or Tommy Thomson, scripted history as the first non-American to win a 110m hurdles Olympic gold medal. Canada's female athlete of the century famous (sharing the century honours with Wayne Gretzky). A significant milestone, but even more significant is that hes also the first Canadian to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Without a doubt, Canadas greatest basketball player. In the weeks leading up to July 1st, we will be releasing articles on the best Canada has to offer. A 4-time Olympian and an Olympic gold medalist, retired Canadian track and field athlete Bruny Surin has been a master of the 4100m relay. His skating ability, offensive skill, and great hockey IQ have convinced many people that he will soon be (if he isnt already) the best hockey player in the world. His championship wins and titles are too many to name, but hes won the Indianapolis 500, and the Formula One World Championshiponly the third racer to have done so and the first Canadian to win the Indy 500 and F-1 championships. The list is in alphabetical order based on last name. Lemieux is narrowly behind Gretzky for the highest all-time points per game in the NHL and the two Canadians are a half point higher than anyone else on the list. Alexandre Lippmann, French fencer (pe), Olympic champion. In 1640, Mance learned that religious women the Ursulines and Augustinians had established themselves in Qubec and she was inspired to go to New France. Ethel Smith (1907 - 1979). Born William Anthony Parker, Jr., in Belgium to an African-American father and a Dutch mother, Tony Parker was raised in France and became a naturalized French citizen at the age of 15. She was a downhill skier before switching to cycling at the urging of her coach, Patrice Ciprelli, who later became her husband. He became famous for his endurance and the way he finished a race with a spectacular burst of speed. Candice Quigley Nicknamed the bulldog of Britannia, Longboat also served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a soldier during the First World War. Steve Nash was initially drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 1996, but was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998 where established himself as one of the leagues best passers. Here we profile the ultimate fighter for clean sport and a woman who changes the conversation around ability. Cecil Smith, her sister Maude "Jim" Smith, and Constance Wilson competed for Canada in figure skating at the 1928 . Andre De Grasse is a Canadian track and field athlete best known for winning the gold medal in the men's 200 metres event at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. She won three gold medals in total at the Commonwealth Games in 1990 and 1994. Canada is a nation that has an incredibly diverse interest in sports. She competed in track and field at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics. . He campaigned for greater independence for Lower Canada, which was dominated by an influential British minority. 10 Ice hockey. In 2019, The Sports Network named Rachel Homan the fourth-greatest Canadian female curler of all time. He had a permanently damaged lung due to an accident. Perhaps no other name in the history of French sports is more popular today than Lacoste. He is also the program assistant of Canadas History Society. In the unpredictable world of bobsleigh, Humphries - the top driver in the world - was looking for every little edge to be the best. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); If you lived in North America or Europe in the 1960s and 70s, she was famous as they come. She retired in January of this year with 168 goals and 211 assists to her name in just 276 career games. The grandson of Patriote Louis-Joseph Papineau, Bourassa was an independent thinker who became a political model for his generation and the next. After a spinal cord injury at 15, he became a paraplegic. She did it in her 500-metre specialty at both the 1998 and 2002 Games. 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 . One of the enduring memories of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games was that of moguls gold medallist Justine Dufour-Lapointe standing on the top step of the podium, looking to her right and holding hands with her older sister Chloe, the silver medallist. named GSP the Canadian Athlete of the Year in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and only Anderson Silva (2,457 days) had a longer title run than GSP (2,204 days). Brooke has been a top-10 competitor on the LPGA for a couple years now, but she's still just 21 years old. Together, they sang O Canada, tears of joy in their eyes, while nearby stood proud eldest sister Maxime, who finished 12th. Some that come to mind are Hockey Hall of Famer Angela James, the late freestyle skiing legend Sarah Burke, superb athlete and sports administrator Abby Hoffman and others. An MFC middleweight champion, he has also won 3 UFC titles. Initially, Hughes won two bronze medals in cycling at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Moyse - the best pusher in the world - was a team-sport star from PEI and member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Scarborough, Ontarios Andre De Grasse was a relatively late bloomer in the sport of track and field, as he didnt seriously begin racing until he was partway through high school. His amazing career is one of the longest in NHL history, and though we sadly lost him earlier this year, hell always remain a huge part of Canadian history. In 1834, the Patriotes won a large majority in the Legislative Assembly and prepared a series of reforms, dubbed the Ninety-Two Resolutions, which would allow French Canadians to win power in Lower Canada through responsible government. He gradually gave up politics but still had significant influence. 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. From 1972 to 1984, Shirley and Sharon Firth went to four consecutive Winter Olympics, shaped the sport of cross-country skiing in the north and ignited a conversation around indigenous culture. Few athletes on this list hold the type of legacy that Fox has among Canadians. We kicked off our series of Canada 150 articles last week with Canadas 15 best ski resorts. Like Terry Fox, Rick Hansen is often honoured for his courage and strength against adversity, but hes also celebrated as a truly gifted athlete. Crosby also won two Olympic gold medals with Canada, including the 2010 final, where he scored a famous golden goal in the finals. She never toed the line. Nicknamed Tiger (well before the golfer! Cartier persuaded French Canadians that this type of union would be more sympathetic to the French Catholic cause than an alliance with the United States. Let's take an appreciation for how difficult it is to OWN your sport for back-to-back Olympics. Donald Edmond "Donnie" Wahlberg Jr. was born on August 17, 1969 in Boston, Massachusetts into a family of Swedish (from his paternal grandfather), Irish, and more distant French-Canadian, English, and Scottish, descent. She won the first-ever World Cup skiing race in 1967 before winning gold at the 1968 winter Olympic giant slalom event. Three-time Olympian Canadian track and field athlete and bobsledder Phylicia George is also an Olympic bronze medalist in the two-woman bobsleigh category. 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. See also; 10 Highest Paid Athletes in the world. Legendary Canadian female athletes you should know | CBC Sports Loaded. Also, Crosby is a complete player with few, if any, weaknesses in his game. They made little Inuvik a hotbed of ski talent. She also set Canadian womens records in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly. With an HPI of . The first of five hockey players on the list is also the most obvious. Full statement, Copyright 2023Canadas History Society | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions, Website designed and developed by ecentricarts.com, Historical Thinking Community of Practice. Just a few years after Ben Johnson had his Olympic medals stripped due to doping, Donovan Bailey captured the hearts of a nation during the 1996 Atlanta games. He also won the French national championship in the 5000-meter race, thus qualifying him for the Olympic Games in Antwerp in 1920. Wayne Douglas Gretzky is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head. 15 Inspirational Asian Canadians to Know by : Patricia Karounos and Hannah Ziegler - May 25th, 2020 In honour of Asian Heritage Month, we're highlighting Asian-Canadian women and non-binary people for their impact in the realms of culture, fashion, athletics and politics. There are parks and lakes and mountain peaks and streets and buildings named after her. Later, she likely worked as a nurse at a hospital in her hometown. While growing up in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, she was quite the fastball player, representing Canada at the world junior championships at one point. Crosby has been a household name in Canada since he was a young teenager, as he dominated every age group. Anglo-Jamaican in origin, the sportsperson specializes in 100m and 200m and began his athletic career with the USC Trojans while in college. Take a trip to Montreal with this audiowalk to learn about the citys history. She joined the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) athlete committee in 2005 and in 2012 was appointed to their executive committee. Lloyd Eisler is a Canadian former pairs skater who won the Olympic bronze medal in 1992 and 1994 along with his partner Isabelle Brasseur.
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