Browse "Sports & Recreation"

Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, "Conn," sports entrepreneur (b at Toronto 1 Feb 1895; d there 18 Nov 1980). He was awarded the Military Cross in WWI and was severely injured by shrapnel in WWII. His reputation for

Connor McDavid, hockey player (born 13 January 1997 in Richmond Hill, ON). A two-time National Hockey League All-Star, McDavid plays for the Edmonton Oilers. One of the best skaters in the game, McDavid is also an elite playmaker. Since breaking into the NHL in 2015, McDavid has established himself as one of the most dynamic offensive stars in the league. He has won the Art Ross Trophy (2017, 2018), Ted Lindsay Award (2017, 2018) and Hart Memorial Trophy (2017). McDavid has also won gold medals with Team Canada at the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship (2013), IIHF World Junior Championship (2015) and IIHF World Championship (2016).

​On 6 June 2014, author Jeremy Freeborn interviewed two-time Olympic moguls champion Alexandre Bilodeau for The Canadian Encyclopedia.

On 25 June 2014, author Jeremy Freeborn interviewed Anne Heggtveit of Ottawa, ON, at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary for The Canadian Encyclopedia.

On 25 June 2014, author Jeremy Freeborn interviewed Donovan Bailey at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary for The Canadian Encyclopedia.

​On 25 June 2014, author Jeremy Freeborn interviewed Marlene Stewart Streit at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary.

​On 6 June 2014, author Jeremy Freeborn interviewed three-time Olympic medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir for The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Cowboys and cowgirls are people employed to tend cattle or horses. The first cowboys to work on the Canadian prairies arrived in the 1870s. The traditional cowboy lifestyle has since given way to a more contained, corporate model of ranching. But the romanticized image of the cowboy on the “open range” lives on as a symbol of the prairies. Today, the terms cowboy and cowgirl can refer to ranch workers or rodeo competitors. Click here for definitions of key terms used in this article.

Craig Lorne Forrest, soccer player (born 20 September 1967 in Coquitlam, BC). Craig Forrest is arguably the best goalkeeper to play for the Canadian men’s soccer team. He was named Canadian Player of the Year in 1994 and 2000, as well as the Most Valuable Player at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he carried Canada to their first and only CONCACAF championship. Forrest later became a well-known soccer analyst for Sportsnet. He has been inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia and the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame. He was also named to the All-Time Canada XI men’s team in 2012.

​In 1975, alpine skier Ken Read became the first North American to win a World Cup downhill race. For a period of about ten years, Read and three other young Canadians — Dave Irwin, Dave Murray, and Steve Podborski — challenged the European ski establishment and changed the course of ski racing history in Canada.

Curtis Hibbert, gymnast (b at Mississauga, Ont 1966). Hibbert is the finest gymnast Canada has ever produced. Proficient in all apparatus, he excels in the strength events. In 1987 Hibbert won the first medal by a Canadian at the World Championships with a 2nd place finish in the high bar.

Cyle Christopher Larin, soccer player (born 17 April 1995 in Brampton, ON). Cyle Larin is the all-time leading goal scorer for the Canadian men’s soccer team. He was the first Canadian player to be selected first overall in the MLS SuperDraft. In 2016, he was named MLS Rookie of the Year after breaking the record for most goals scored by a rookie. After scoring 43 goals in 87 games in three seasons with Orlando City SC, he was transferred to Beşiktaş JK of the Süper Lig in 2018. Larin helped Beşiktaş JK win the Süper Lig, Turkish Cup and the Turkish Super Cup in 2020–21. He also played for Canada at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Cynthia Maria “Cindy” Nicholas, marathon swimmer, lawyer, politician (born 20 August 1957 in Toronto, ON; died 19 May 2016 in Scarborough, ON).  Cindy Nicholas was one of Canada’s most dominant marathon swimmers. In 1977, at the age of 20, she became both the first woman and youngest swimmer to complete a return crossing of the English Channel, setting a new world record of 19 hours and 55 minutes. She completed 19 crossings of the Channel between 1974 and 1982, including a record five return-trips, and earned the nickname “Queen of the Channel.” Nicholas was named the women’s world marathon swimming champion in 1976 and won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s female athlete of the year in 1977. She also practiced law and served as a Member of Provincial Parliament with the Ontario Liberal Party from 1987 to 1990. She is a Member of the Order of Canada, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame  and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.  

Damian David George Warner, men’s decathlete (born 4 November 1989 in London, Ontario). Damian Warner is regarded as Canada’s all-time best decathlete. At the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, he won the gold medal and set an Olympic record in decathlon with 9,018 total points. He is one of only four decathletes to reach 9,000 points in international competition. Warner also holds the men’s decathlon world records in the 100 m (10.12 seconds), long jump (8.28 m), and 110 m hurdles (13.36 seconds). He has won many medals in international competition, including a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Summer Games and a record six titles at the prestigious Hypo Meeting in Götzis, Austria. In 2021, he was awarded the Lionel Conacher Award and the Lou Marsh Trophy and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Daniel Albert Halldorson, golfer (born 2 April 1952 in Winnipeg, MB; died 19 November 2015 in Cambridge, Illinois). Dan Halldorson was one of Canada’s best and most influential golfers. He won seven Canadian Tour events and finished in the Top 10 in 28 PGA Tour events, amassing career earnings just shy of US$1.2 million. He was named Canada’s professional golfer of the year in 1981 and 1983 and is the only Canadian golfer to be a part of two World Cup victories (1980 and 1985). He served as deputy director of the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada from 2005 to 2011 and was a mentor to such Canadian golf greats as Mike Weir and Ian Leggatt. Halldorson is a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of Canada Hall of Fame.