The Jamaican born, Canadian sprinter won gold in the 100m setting a new world record of 9.84 seconds in the process. He also won a gold medal at the 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton. Copyright 2023 by AncoraThemes. He won the Olympic silver medal in the 10,000-meter long distance race. Lionel Conacher Hometown: Toronto, Ontario. There are a number of Canadians doing good things on the PGA Tour, but that wasnt always the case. She's got her eyes on a fourth Games in Tokyo this summer. That was then. At her first Olympics at London 2012, George made the 100 hurdles final, finishing sixth. 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. Her fierce stance against drug cheats earned her respect from athletes worldwide, but also the ire of the suits in the room. Much like Mario Lemieux, theres a good chance Orr would be considered the greatest hockey player of all time if his career wasnt cut short by injury. She is an Olympic gold-medalist and 13-time world champion who also competed in track bicycle racing events. A member of the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and Companion of the Order of Canada, she was appointed to the Senate in March 2016. If you don't already know these athletes, you should. Today, Longo is an all-time great racing cyclist who still competes on the Masters circuits in her 60s. But she got her first Olympic start in Vancouver 2010 in alpine skiing. In the 2020 Olympics, Sinclair helped her team win the gold medal. Canada's female athlete of the century famous (sharing the century honours with Wayne Gretzky). He gradually gave up politics but still had significant influence. Two different events. The moment she won Canada's first-ever cross-country medal at an Olympic Games, Beckie Scott made history, but she could not have known how that achievement would forge the next part of her life. As a professional tennis player, she is currently ranked no. A cyclist and a speed skater, she set records for not only Canadians, but athletes from all over the world. He continues to inspire countless Canadians after all these years. (Photo: National Archives Bookstore.) anniversary in 2015, theEncyclopediadrew up the following list of 30 francophones from all corners of French-speaking Canada who have achieved fame in various fields. The famous athlete was nicknamed 'The Big Train'. Sinclair has won the Canada Soccer Player of the Year award an outstanding 12 times in her career and is a 6 time nominee of FIFAs World Player of the Year award. Adriana John His illustrious career has seen him compete internationally for Jamaica, Canada, and Monaco. She is currently ranked an impressive 8th in the world at her sport, a position that she will no doubt surpass in the future. She joined the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) athlete committee in 2005 and in 2012 was appointed to their executive committee. Former Edmonton Grads basketball team members (left to right) Edith Stone Sutton (1930-34), Margaret MacBurney . Four years later, she made the hurdles final once again and helped the 4x100 relay team to sixth-place finish. In fact, his plan for Canadian independence from the British Parliament became reality in 1931, with the signing of the Statute of Westminster. See also; 10 Highest Paid Athletes in the world. She never toed the line. 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. Moyse - the best pusher in the world - was a team-sport star from PEI and member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. 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. Obviously the diamond took a back seat to the ice as she went on to the most prolific career in women's hockey. Indigenous Canadian actor Jay Silverheels gained international popularity for playing Tonto, the Native American companion of the protagonist in the American western TV series The Lone Ranger. This article originally appeared in the April-May 2017issue ofCanadas History. Getty/Tim Clayton-Corbis As Insider reported, 23-year-old Osaka, the No. Brooke has been a top-10 competitor on the LPGA for a couple years now, but she's still just 21 years old. Nicknamed the Man of Bronze, Phil Edwards won five bronze medals for Canada at the Olympic Games between 1928 and 1936. Similarly to Andre De Grasse, Penny Oleksiak used the 2016 Summer Olympics as a means to catapult herself to the forefront of her sport. 7 Curling. Sidney Crosby no doubt deserves this ranking, given he has been at the top of his sport for the last decade, achieving great success both professionally with the NHLs Pittsburgh Penguins, and internationally as a member of Team Canada. The 25 greatest figure skaters of all time | Yardbarker In 1995 Longo became the first female rider to win road and time-trial world titles in the same year, a record that stood until Hollands Anna van der Breggen accomplished the same feat in 2020. Through her perseverance and dedication to Montral, Jeanne Mance paved the way for what would become the most important city in Canada between 1880 and 1950. Hundreds of thousands came out to celebrate and in 1950, Rosenfeld was named Canada's female athlete of the first half of the century. The Ontario native has also represented Canada on the international stage several times, including being a member of the bronze medal winning squad at the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship. or back-to-back World Cup overall titles, Greene Raine ruled the slopes and inspired the next generation of ski racers, male and female. From the ice to the hardcourt, theres not much doubt about who Canadas greatest basketball player is. Sidney Crosby is regarded as one of the best hockey players of all time and has amassed over 1200 points over his fifteen-year playing career alongside eight all-star appearances and three Stanley Cups. Just before winning four consecutive Olympic gold medals in hockey, Wickenheiser starred for the softball team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He later quit sports to pursue acting. Despite the poor showing of Canadian teams during this past hockey season, right now is a pretty exciting time for Canadian athletes. Five years later, he received his first players license. McDavid, a speedy centre, was the first pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, and recently made his first All-Star appearance at the professional level. Throughout his career in both politics and journalism, he fought for the protection of minorities namely Canadians in the Commonwealth and French-Canadians outside Qubec. 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!) Sharon Firth said: "The world was so fascinated by us skinny indian girls and boys and how we danced on skis. He has won two silver medals and three bronze medals in two Olympic Games so far. Thousands of pieces form Montrals historical patchwork quilt. Olympic gold medalist Canadian athlete Fanny Bobbie Rosenfeld earned the nickname Bobbie for the bob cut she sported. Auto racing is another sport that few Canadians excel at, but Vileneuve certain helped to put our countrys name on the map with the sport. For instance, though there have been several notable Canadian baseball players, Fergie Jenkins was the first Canadian to win the Cy Young Award. 12 Team Canada athletes who are Winter and Summer Olympians She'll forever be known as the "fastest woman on ice.". Canada 150: The 15 greatest Canadian athletes - KelownaNow Christine Sinclair, one of the best female soccer players ever, comes in at #8 on our list. Named the Female Athlete of the First Half-Century by Canada, she also excelled in hockey, apart from track and field. 47in world ranking. Ben Johnson who held the record of being the fastest man in the world during the 1980s was a Canadian. Hometown: Manchester, Jamaica (immigrated to Oakville, Ontario), Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa (immigrated to Regina, Saskatchewan then Victoria, B.C. Competing in his first Olympics, he won a silver medal in the 200m, and bronze medals in the 100m and 4 x 100m relay. Ballard also owned the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL. Georges St. Pierre Hometown: Montreal, Quebec. 2 Donovan Bailey He is best known for his performance in the 1984 Olympic Games, where he won two bronze medals. 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. As a young man, he excelled in athletics and became a lacrosse player. The gifted playmaker returned to Phoenix in 2004 where he won back to back NBA MVP Awards. Conacher succeeded in a number of sports including football, hockey, baseball, lacrosse, boxing and wrestling. 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). Zidane is a Muslim of Algerian-French descent. He was also the creator of the first steel tennis racket and the tennis ball machine. Elected in the Montral suburb of Verchres, he became co-premier of the unified Province of Canada along with John A. Macdonald. Now, Humphries competes for the United States after an acrimonious split from the Canadian program. 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. Probably Canadas most famous Paralympic athlete, hes won three golds, two silvers and one bronze between 1980 and 1984. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Robbed of that Olympic moment, she formed a powerful voice in the boardroom. Impressed by Mance and her mission, Peltrie decided to join the group. Lets dive into the list of some of the most famous French athletes of all time. No surprise she was voted the top female Canadian athlete of the 20th century. 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. His career in athletics started during World War I, winning the national cross-country championships of the French military. This resulted in unrest leading to the Lower Canada Rebellion of 183738. He returned to Canada after being granted amnesty in 1844. Lou Marsh also worked for the Toronto Star for more than four decades and is often counted among the pioneers of sports journalism in the country. Klassen also won a bronze medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, tying her with Clara Hughes for the Canadian record of six total medals at the Olympics. Three-time Olympian Canadian track and field athlete and bobsledder Phylicia George is also an Olympic bronze medalist in the two-woman bobsleigh category. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. Jeannie Longo's athletic career began in her hometown in the French Alps. Hockey has proven that Canada has its fair share of fighters, but not too many of us make a splash in the world of boxing. bizarre and unfortunate Olympic qualifying rules and domestic standards, She later stepped down as head of the WADA athlete's committee, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. He won a gold medal at the 1934 British Empire Games in London, where he represented British Guiana. 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 . 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. Canada's greatest wheelchair racer of all-time blazes trails wherever her career takes her - as an athlete, advocate or politician. Wickenheiser also represented Canada once in the Summer Olympics as a part of the softball team. Probably Canada's most famous Paralympic athlete, he's won three golds, two silvers and one bronze between 1980 and 1984. List of French Americans - Wikipedia Once in Qubec City, she met Marie-Madeleine de Chauvigny de la Peltrie, founder of the Ursulines in Qubec. Ferguson Jenkins Hometown: Chatham, Ontario. Her hard work and leadership provide an excellent example for other aspiring athletes. This International Womens Day, lets celebrate some of Canada's female heroes of the past and not-so distant past. Is it better for French-speaking and English-speaking friends to go to school together, or to have a chance to learn in their own language? 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). Comments are welcome while open. He is best known for his charitable endeavor, Man in Motion World Tour, and is associated with many initiatives to fund spinal cord treatment research. Canadas national womens soccer team is currently ranked in the top ten, thanks in part to the skills of captain Christine Sinclair. He also piled up 11 top-10 and four top-5 major finishes in his career. Canadas National History Society acknowledges that we meet and work across the ancestral lands of many Indigenous peoples: First Nations, Inuit, and Mtis.