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Create AccountMichael Smith, decathlete (b at Kenora, Ont 1967). Smith established himself as a future champion by winning the silver medal at the World Junior Track and Field Championships in 1986. He was bothered by tendinitis in 1988 and placed a disappointing 14th at the OLYMPIC GAMES in Seoul.
Raised in Laval, Qué, Abel began DIVING in 1996. During her second year competing nationally, Abel became national champion in the 1 m diving event. Over the next 4 years, Abel continued to compete nationally as an individual diver.
Georges St-Pierre (nicknamed GSP), mixed martial artist (born 19 May 1981 in Saint-Isidore, QC). Georges St-Pierre is considered one of the best mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters of all time. He retired from the the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with a career record of 26–2. A UFC welterweight champion from 2006 to 2007 and 2008 to 2013, St-Pierre holds the record for the most title defenses in the UFC welterweight division with nine. In 2017, he defeated Michael Bisping to win the middleweight championship, making him the fourth fighter in UFC history to win titles in multiple divisions. St-Pierre was named the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Rogers Sportsnet Canadian Athlete of the Year, the 2008 Black Belt Magazine MMA Fighter of the Year, the 2009 Sports Illustrated Fighter of the Year and the 2009 World MMA Awards Fighter of the Year.
Donovan Anthony Bailey, O.Ont., track and field sprinter (born 16 December 1967 in Manchester Parish, Jamaica). Donovan Bailey won the gold medal for Canada in the men’s 100m at the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia, and set a world record with a time of 9.84 seconds. He later won a second Olympic gold medal when he led Team Canada to a first-place finish in the men’s 4x100m relay. During his athletic career, he also won four medals (three gold and one silver) at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships.
Bentley was a masterly stickhandler and a quick, darting skater - one of the most skilled players of his era. He retired to operate the family wheat farm in 1954. He scored 245 goals and 544 points in 646 games, and 18 goals, 45 points in 52 playoff games.
Lela Alene Brooks, speed skater (born 7 February 1908 in Toronto, ON; died 11 September 1990 in Owen Sound, ON). Brooks dominated women’s speed skating in the 1920s and 1930s, winning titles in all distances — from the 220-yard (200m) to the one-mile (1,600m) event.
Percy Alfred Williams, runner (b at Vancouver 19 May 1908; d there 29 Nov 1982). As a child Williams suffered from rheumatic fever, which left him with a damaged heart. But just a year out of high school, the 59 kg runner became
Ethel Catherwood, track and field athlete (b in Hannah, North Dakota 28 Apr 1908; d Grass Valley, California 26 Sept 1987). Ethel Catherwood was the only Canadian woman ever to win an individual gold medal in Olympic track and
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.
A 6 time PAN AMERICAN medallist and 3 time OLYMPIC GAMES medallist, success began early for Heymans, who had won 30 national titles by the time she was 19.
Lionel Pretoria Conacher, all-round athlete, politician (born 24 May 1900 in Toronto, Ontario; died 26 May 1954 in Ottawa, Ontario).
The sport spread quickly across Canada. They played "bat" in Red River in the 1830s. In a game in Huntington, Québec in the 1830s, one Hazelton Moore threw a bean ball and ignited a brawl. Halifax and Saint John had teams as early as 1838.
Marcel Elphage Dionne, hockey player (b at Drummondville, Que 3 Aug 1951). After an eventful career as a junior at St Catharines in which he was twice the top scorer in the OHL, he was first choice of the Detroit Red Wings in the amateur draft of 1971.
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
Eddie Steven Phillip Shack, hockey player, TV personality (born 11 February 1937 in Sudbury, ON; died 25 July 2020 in Toronto, ON). Eddie Shack played left wing with six NHL teams over a 17-year career, and was a popular member of the Toronto Maple Leafs when they won four Stanley Cups in 1962–64 and 1967. A three-time All Star, he played more than 1,000 career games and was widely known for his entertaining style of play. His antics earned him the nickname “The Entertainer,” a persona he drew on in a second career as a TV pitchman. He is an iconic figure in Canadian hockey and the inspiration for the hit song “Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack.”
As the First World War dragged on in Europe, a group of remarkable young women turned the hockey world upside down.
Stephen "Steve" Gregory Yzerman, hockey player, general manager (born 9 May 1965 in Cranbrook, BC). National Hockey League (NHL) superstar Steve Yzerman, a career Detroit Red Wing known for his exceptional sportsmanship and leadership abilities, is the longest-serving captain in the league's history. Yzerman was captain of the Detroit Red Wings from 1986 to 2006, and led the team to three Stanley Cup victories. In 2002, he won an Olympic gold medal as part of the men’s hockey team. He was also executive director of the men’s hockey teams that won Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014. Yzerman became vice president of the Detroit Red Wings following his retirement as a player, and in 2010 became general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
On 28 January 1937, Morenz sustained a broken leg that proved to be a career-ending injury. In the months that followed, his health gradually declined, culminating in his death on 8 March of the same year.
James McLarnin, "Jimmy," boxer (b at Belfast, Ire 19 Dec 1907; d at Richland, Wash 28 Oct 2004).
