Browse "Athletes"

As the First World War dragged on in Europe, a group of remarkable young women turned the hockey world upside down.

Abigail Hoffman, track and field athlete, sport administrator (b at Toronto 11 Feb 1947). As a 9-year-old hockey player, she unwittingly caused controversy by entering a male-dominated sport; she later joined the Toronto Olympic Club and competed at international events.

Ada Mackenzie, golfer (b at Toronto 30 Oct 1891; d at Richmond Hill, Ont 25 Jan 1973). Mackenzie paved the way for women to take golf seriously by founding the first club restricted to women, the Ladies' Golf and Tennis Club, in Thornhill, Ont, in May 1925. Mackenzie's own play set high standards.

Adam van Koeverden, kayaker (born 29 January 1982 in Toronto, ON). Adam van Koeverden, Canada’s most successful paddler, has won four Olympic medals at three Games. At the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens, he won a bronze medal in the men's K-1 1000 m event, followed a day later by victory in the K-1 500 m. He was Canada's first double-medalist in the Summer Olympics since Donovan Bailey and Clara Hughes at Atlanta in 1996, and received the Lou Marsh Trophy in 2004 in recognition of his accomplishment. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Van Koeverden won silver in the K-1 1500 m event and at the 2012 Olympics in London, he took silver in the men's K-1 1000 m. Van Koeverden is an athlete ambassador for Right To Play, and a graduate of McMaster University in Kinesiology (2007), where he was elected class valedictorian. In January 2019, he became the Liberal candidate for the federal riding of Milton in southern Ontario. He defeated Conservative incumbent Lisa Raitt in the October 2019 federal election.

Albert H. MacCarthy, mountaineer (b at Ames, Iowa 1876; d at Annapolis, Maryland 11 Oct 1956). Though by vocation a US naval officer and entrepreneur, MacCarthy was by avocation a mountaineer with a passion for pioneering new climbs in western Canada.

​Albertine Lapensée (“Miracle Maid”), hockey player (born 10 August 1898 in Cornwall, ON; date and place of death unknown). Albertine Lapensée was arguably Canada’s first female hockey superstar.

Aleksandra Wozniak, tennis player (born 7 September 1987 in Montréal, QC). Aleksandra Wozniak is a world-ranked tennis player. In 2008, she captured the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, becoming the first Canadian woman to win a WTA singles world title since Jill Hetherington-Hultquist in 1988, and the first woman from Québec to achieve the honour.

Alex Baumann showed his potential as a world-class swimmer at a young age. Under coach Jeno Tihanyi, Baumann won 10 age-group events and set 9 records during his first year of competition. His abilities became widely recognized and several American universities subsequently sought him out.

Alex Harvey, (born at Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, QC, 7 Sep 1988). Athlete Alex Harvey participated in the winter Olympic Games and made his mark on the World Cup circuit in cross-country skiing.

Alexander Sheldon Wilson (born at Montréal, Que 1 Dec 1907; died at Hidalgo, Tex 9 Dec 1994). Alex Wilson was a sprinter who wore the Canadian colours in the 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics in track and field.

Alexandre Bilodeau, skier (born 8 September 1987 in Montréal, QC). Moguls skier Alexandre Bilodeau was the first Canadian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal on home soil, when he won gold in moguls at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. He successfully defended his gold medal at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.

Alexandre Despatie, diver (born at Montréal 8 Jun 1985). Alexandre Despatie is one of Canada's most-accomplished athletes in diving, and is a three-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist.

Alexis Le Trotteur, né Lapointe (b at La Malbaie, Qué 4 June 1860; d at Alma, Qué 12 Jan 1924). Le Trotteur is the French Canadian designation of Alexis Lapointe, called so because of his fantastic running ability.

Allison Higson, swimmer (b at Mississauga, Ont 13 Mar 1973). Higson established 11 age group records at a single meet in December 1985.

Aloha Wanderwell, adventurer (b Idris Hall at Winnipeg 13 October 1906; d at Newport Beach, California 4 June 1996). Aloha Wanderwell was the daughter of British Army reservist Herbert Hall, an extremely prosperous Vancouver Island rancher and developer.

Alwyn Morris, canoeist (b at Montréal 22 Nov 1957). He won the K-1 1000 m and K-1 500 m junior national championships in 1977 and was the 1977 recipient of the Tom Longboat Award for top North American Indian athlete. With Hugh Fisher he won a gold medal in the K-2 1000 m (time 3:24.

Andre De Grasse, sprinter (born 10 November 1994 in Scarborough , ON). While Donovan Bailey was the first Canadian to run under 10 seconds in the 100m dash, De Grasse is the first to break both the 10-second barrier in the 100m dash and the 20-second barrier in the 200m dash. At age 20, De Grasse burst onto the international stage, winning double gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, Ontario, followed by a bronze medal in the 100m at the 2015 world track and field championships. He is the Canadian 200m record holder. At the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio, De Grasse won three medals: silver in the 200m, bronze in the 100m and bronze in the 4x100m relay.

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. She won three gold medals in total at the Commonwealth Games in 1990 and 1994. An advocate for Indigenous issues, Chalmers has made efforts to connect with and inspire Indigenous youth from across Canada. Among many honours and awards, Chalmers was inducted into Athletics Canada Hall of Fame in 2019.

Angela James, hockey player (born 22 December 1964 in Toronto, ON). Known as "the Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey," Angela James was a pioneering and dominant force in women's hockey during the 1980s and 1990s. James led the Canadian women’s hockey team to four world championships (1990, 1992, 1994, and 1997). She was also one of the first three women to be inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame. When James was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (in Toronto) in 2010, she was one of the first two women, the first openly gay player, and the second black athlete to ever be inducted.

Angella Issajenko, sprinter (b in Jamaica 28 Sept 1958). Known as "Angella Taylor" for most of her athletic career since 1978, Issajenko has been one of Canada's outstanding international sprinters.