Black History Month – Celebrating Black Canadian track and field athletes past and present

“If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition.” – Scholar Carter Woodson, the chief architect of Black History Month

Our sport has deep roots when it comes to Black history in Canada and, throughout the month of February, we are going to highlight a number of individuals who produced outstanding performances, achieved greatness and contributed to making Canada the culturally diverse, compassionate and prosperous nation it is today. Many of these people inspired generation after generation as they broke down barriers.

Join us as we celebrate our Canadian trailblazers…


Andre De Grasse

The best is yet to come.

At only 26 years old, Andre De Grasse has already accomplished what many sprinters only dream of. He’s a triple Olympic medallist, has stood on the podium at the World Championships, captured gold twice at the Pan American Games and established Canadian records in the 200-metres, 4x100- and 4x200-metre relay.

And to think, he laced up a pair of borrowed spikes, pulled on a pair of baggy basketball shorts and a T-shirt, and raced to a second-place finish – sans starting blocks – for the first time less than 10 years ago. It was 10.9 seconds that changed his life forever.

Following that race, Tony Sharpe – himself a medallist at the 1984 Olympics Games – took De Grasse under his wing. He joined Speed Academy, got his life back on track – De Grasse has admitted that he was going nowhere fast, hanging out with a rough crowd, doing drugs and looking for acceptance in the wrong place – and, after being pursued by the top NCAA track and field programs, he landed at the University of Southern California.

De Grasse made headlines across Canada and the United States in June 2015 when he won the 100-metre and 200-metre final at the NCAA Championships in a span of 45 minutes. He had blistering fast times in both – 9.75 seconds in the 100 metres and 19.58 seconds in the 200 metres – but the wind-aided marks didn’t count towards any official records or rankings.

Adding to his breakout season, De Grasse raced to double gold at the Pan American Games in Toronto, sweeping the 100-metre and 200-metre events, and then turned a few heads when he brought home two bronze medals from the World Championships, one in the 100-metres and the other in the 4x100-metre relay.

De Grasse officially turned pro at the end of the 2015 season, choosing to forego his final year of college eligibility. That decision paid off in Rio, when De Grasse made history by becoming the first Canadian athlete to win Olympic medals in all three sprint events.

First came a bronze medal in the 100 metres, making him Canada’s first Olympic medallist in the event since Donovan Bailey in 1996. That was followed by a silver medal in the 200 metres, where he set a national record of 19.80 seconds and helped author one of biggest moments of the Games – sharing a laugh, smile and finger wag with arguably the greatest sprinter of all-time, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt – and then he closed his Olympic debut by anchoring the 4x100-metre relay team to a bronze in a national record time of 37.64 seconds, breaking the 20-year-old mark held by the gold medal squad from Atlanta 1996.

De Grasse’s 2017 season got off to an electrifying start – three Diamond League wins over a 10-day span and double gold at the Canadian Championships. Heading to London for the World Championships, De Grasse was ready to dethrone Bolt once and for all, but he never got the chance. The Canadian was forced to withdraw from the competition after suffering a hamstring tear just days prior.

Though he returned to the track in 2018, the injury continued to hinder De Grasse’s performance, causing him once again to shut down his season following the Canadian Track & Field Championships. In hopes of turning around a career derailed by injuries, De Grasse made the tough decision to leave Stuart McMillan and the ALTIS group he’d been with since turning pro to work with Rana Reider in Florida.

That decision paid off. De Grasse returned to the track in 2019 and dipped under the 20-second mark in the 200-metres, broke the Canadian 100-yard record (9.30 seconds) and went toe-to-toe with Aaron Brown in the sprint events at the Canadian Track & Field Championships. He took that momentum to the track in Doha, Qatar, where he won bronze in the 100-metres and silver in the 200-metres, the first World Championships medal for a Canadian in the 200-metre race since Atlee Mahorn in 1991.

It’s safe to say Canada’s sprint sensation is back, and the best is truly yet to come.

 

What does De Grasse do off the track?

We would be remiss not to acknowledge the great things De Grasse has done to give back to his community and to make a difference in the lives of others. Following his success in Rio, De Grasse launched the Andre De Grasse Family Foundation, which is committed to inspiring and empowering youth through access to sport, education and healthcare.

He’s continued to host the Andre De Grasse Classic in Markham, Ont., a weekend-long basketball tournament that sees more than 800 basketball players hit the hardwood. The Olympian has stepped on the stage for numerous speaking engagements, including WE Day, and has recently penned a children’s book called Race With Me!, set to be released on July 6. Finally, De Grasse has taken on an ambassador role for the bid to bring the 2026 Commonwealth Games to Hamilton, Ont., an event that just might serve as a closing act to a career that still has a lot of track ahead of it.


Phylicia George

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” – Sean Patrick Flanery

Back-to-back appearances in an Olympic final. The first Black woman from Canada to compete at the Summer and Winter Games. And sliding into the history books in Pyeongchang.

If that doesn’t say a lot about Phylicia George, we don’t know what does.

But sometimes, the chase for an Olympic medal takes you on a different path than the one you originally set out on. George distinguished herself on the track, representing Canada at the Olympic Games in London and Rio. But the 33-year-old is an Olympic bronze medallist … in bobsleigh!

George is that rarest of athletes, one of only 12 Canadians who have competed on the world stage in both a summer and winter sport. A Canadian Champion hurdler and a distinguished sprinter, her blend of power and speed attracted the attention of two-time Olympic Champion bobsleigh pilot Kaillie Humphries. Just weeks after competing in the World Athletics Championships in 2017, George was on the icy track, honing her new craft that would lead to the Olympic podium in 2018.

Rarer still, George’s first Olympic experience in 2012 came at the expense of attending medical school. Though becoming a doctor was her childhood dream, George delayed her entry into medical school to commit to making Team Canada in London. Taking a different path has led her to two Olympic finals on the track, to go with that bobsleigh breakthrough.

Earning Olympic success on the ice did not mean her time on the track had ended. The newly-minted Olympic medallist raced a full indoor and outdoor season in 2019, competing in the 60 metres, 100 metres and 100-metre hurdles, and representing Canada at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

The hurdles remain her trademark event on the track. Having competed at four World Championships and holding the University of Connecticut’s school record in the event, overcoming obstacles between her and her goals has been George’s specialty since she was 15 when she used to race her dad in parking lots in the Greater Toronto Area.

An accomplished speaker, author and wellness ambassador, George continues to inspire others to dream big and to follow their passion towards living the life they want. “It’s only impossible until it’s done… give yourself the opportunity to surprise others, but more importantly surprise yourself.”


“Blast Off”: The 1996 men’s 4x100-metre relay team

Speed, chemistry, rhythm and the ability to execute under pressure. They all had it.

Nearly 25 years ago, Donovan Bailey, Bruny Surin, Glenroy Gilbert and Robert Esmie surprised the world cementing their names in the Olympic and Canadian record books in 37.69 seconds – a national record that went untouched for more than 20 years.

The Americans were the defending Olympic champions and current world record holders. They were running on home soil. Even though Bailey won the 100-metre final a week prior, the U.S. were still considered the greatest sprniting nation of all-time. They were the fastest and deepest in the world, until Saturday, Aug. 3, 1996.

How did these four men manage to pull-off Olympic gold? We’ll tell you …

Sprinters are known to be a bit sluggish early in the morning – barely alive at 9 a.m. – and the Canadian team was no different during the heats. They struggled. The group almost got disqualified in the final exchange because of poor rhythm and timing. There was a miscue between Surin and Bailey that almost cost them the race, and their shot at the Olympic title.

In an attempt to put the rocky start behind them, the team got to work focusing on mechanics and trying to make peace with the interpersonal issues that existed within the group. At the end of the day, they were friends to say ‘hello’, but they were fierce competitors who were “trying to kill each other” when they stood on the start line side-by-side.

The Canadian team went on to win their semi-final heat in 38.36 seconds, but they knew they would have to dip under 38 seconds to compete with the Americans. They realized they had a problem, and that problem was a slow start. Carlton Chambers had run the first leg, but he was struggling with hamstring, groin and abdominal ailments after running the 200-metre heats.

Do they stay with Chambers? Or do they go with the unknown? The unknown wasn’t just Esmie, it was changing the order if they were going to medal. Esmie was ready to go. He had earned his spot and knew what he had to do.

After a police escort to Olympic Stadium due to a traffic accident, the team appeared to be calm, cool and collected – including ‘the kid’ who was sporting a new hairdo. Esmie took off his hat to reveal the words “Blast Off” shaved into his head.

Before they took to the track for the final, the Americans were doing a lot of trash talking. There was a lot of staring, chest pumping, you name it. But the Canadians were content on letting their running speak for itself. On paper they weren’t the fastest team, but one must truly understand the impact a baton has. “When another man is waiting for a baton, that baton is the most important thing in the world.”

Esmie took his place in the blocks and when the gun went off all eight men ran the curve together. In his first race of the Games, Esmie was running really well, even a step ahead of Chambers. So, Gilbert made the decision to leave a hair early. He put his hand back in the middle of the zone, felt the baton and went for it.

Banking on a 9.9 second 100 metres, Surin was focused and ready. It was almost like he snatched the baton out of mid-air when Gilbert got to the mark, because he did. Gilbert let the stick go in the air – any other race, that mid-air exchange might have cost them dearly, but not that night.

Surin, with his teeth grinning, tore-up the third leg leaving only one thing between him and gold. A flawless exchange with Bailey. The 100-metre gold medallist turned around, looked at Surin and watched for his foot to hit the mark. He took off, put his hand out and took the stick. In that moment, everyone knew it was over. Bailey was having the Games of his life; he wasn’t going to be beat that night – not with a six-metre lead.

Twenty metres out, Bailey put his hand up in victory. Though a world record was within reach, their goal was to destroy the Americans. To humiliate them because they had no respect for them, or their competitors. They weren’t worried about a world record. They had won Olympic gold. For the second consecutive Saturday, a gold medal went to Canada in an American dominated event on American soil.

Though Bailey, Surin, Gilbert and Esmie stood on top of the Olympic podium, all five men including Chambers, received an Olympic gold medal that night in Atlanta.


Mark McKoy

“Be the 1 per cent. Defy the status quo.” – Mark McKoy

Mark McKoy, the first Canadian to win a gold medal on the track in 64 years, lived and breathed by those words throughout his entire career, which spanned nearly two decades.

McKoy was born in Guyana, spent much of his childhood in England and moved to Canada at the age of 12. He emerged as a promising young track star in Toronto in the late 1970s, and specialized in the 110-metre hurdles. At only 18 years of age, he qualified for the 1980 Olympic Games that were boycotted by the Canadian team.

In 1981, displaying great speed out of the blocks, McKoy won his first of eight consecutive National Championships. He quickly established himself as one of the top hurdlers in the world, but had difficulty performing at his best on the world stage.

Ranked in the top three heading to Los Angeles in 1984, McKoy would miss the podium by 0.05 seconds, finishing fourth. After winning gold at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in the 110-metre hurdles, and as a member of the 4x100-metre relay team, he would fail to medal at the 1987 World Championships.

McKoy’s bad luck continued at the 1988 Seoul Olympics where he placed seventh after crashing into a number of hurdles in the final of the 110-metre race. Following the stripping of teammate Ben Johnson’s 100-metre gold medal, McKoy made a premature departure from Seoul prior to the men’s 4x100-metre relay, in which he was to compete. McKoy subsequently admitted to using drugs at the Dubin Enquiry and was later dealt a two-year suspension.

Following his suspension, McKoy resumed training with his eye on the ultimate prize – a gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, which he accomplished in 13.12 seconds, despite slamming the last hurdle. At age 30, he was the oldest winner in the event’s history and finally put an end to his fourth-place finishes.

Over the course of his career, McKoy set two world indoor records in the 50-metre and 60-metre hurdles and Canadian records for the 50-metre, 60-metre and 110-metre hurdles. Following his retirement, he became a successful coach, motivational speaker, mentor and fitness advisor, and CEO & President of Gold Medal Enterprises.

McKoy is the recipient of the Canada Sports Excellence Award, York University Athlete of the Year, Harry Jerome Award for Sports Excellence, and has been inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Game, Athletics Canada Hall of Fame and Athletics Ontario Fall of Fame.


Charmaine Crooks

From Moscow to Atlanta, with stops in Los Angeles, Seoul and Barcelona in between.

Charmaine Crooks, Canada’s first female five-time Olympian in athletics, began running seriously at the age of 16 and was named to the 1980 Canadian Olympic team the following year. However, Crooks’ Olympic dream was put on hold when Canada joined the American-led boycott of the Games in Moscow.

Four years later, Crooks finally stepped on an Olympic track alongside Jillian Richardson, Molly Killingbeck and Marita Payne (Wiggins), capturing silver in the 4x400-metre relay in a time of 3:21.21 – a Canadian record that still stands to this day.

In a career that spanned more than a decade, Crooks also won medals at the Commonwealth and Pan American Games (400-metre gold in 1983), the World Cup and the Canadian Track & Field Championships. She was an 11-time National Champion in the 400-metre and 800-metre events, and the first Canadian woman to break the two-minute barrier over the longer of the two distances.

As a veteran leader who had always been an advocate for fair play, Crooks was named Team Canada’s Opening Ceremony flag bearer at Atlanta 1996, in what would be her final appearance at the Olympic Games. That same year she was also elected to the International Olympic Committee Athlete’s Commission. From 2000 to 2004, she was a full voting member of the IOC Ethics Committee, served on the Executive Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency and has served on the Executive Board of Right to Play International. In 2006, the Jamaican-born Canadian-raised Crooks received the IOC Women in Sport Award for her dedicated service.

Crooks was appointed a director of international relations with the Canadian Olympic Committee in 2001, served as a member of the IOC press commission, the culture and education commission and the Athens 2004 working group. She was also part of the organizing board for the 2001 World Athletics Championships in Edmonton and served as vice-chair for the World Weightlifting Championships held in Vancouver in 2003.

The five-time Olympian was one of the original Vancouver 2010 Olympic bid team members, was one of 20 directors of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organizing Committee and served on both the VANOC governance and strategic communications committees.

In more recent news, Crooks, a member of the Order of Canada (2012), was appointed acting vice-president of Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors becoming the first woman and first person of colour to serve in the post.

Over the years, Crooks has also received four federal government athlete excellence awards, including the John Basset Memorial Award, Olympic Champion Award, Bruce Kidd Athletic Leadership Award and the Governor General’s community service award.


Harry Jerome

One of the best to ever represent Canada, Henry “Harry” Winston Jerome – the grandson of John Howard, an American-born railway porter who represented Canada at the 1912 Olympic Games – broke the Canadian record in the 220-yard dash at only 18 years of age, which Percy Williams had held for more than 31 years.

The three-time Olympian then went on to set or equal world records in the 60-yard indoor dash, the 100-yard dash, the 100-metre sprint – becoming the first native Canadian to officially hold a world track record – and the 440-yard relay.

A favourite heading into the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Jerome was forced to pull up during the 100-metre semi-finals due to a hamstring injury. He was so upset that he walked into the dressing room without saying a single word to the press, infuriating some and being called a quitter who couldn’t handle the pressure of a major international competition by others.

Jerome pressed on with his sights set on the 1962 Commonwealth Games only to fall ill prior to the event. In a repeat of the 1960 Olympic Games, Jerome tore the quadriceps tendon in his left leg, later diagnosed as a rupture of the rectus femoris muscle.

The Canadian sprinter returned to Vancouver with two questions hanging over his head – would he fully recover from this “career-ending injury” and would he ever bring home a medal from an international competition?

Jerome proved naysayers wrong in February of 1964 by running the 60-yard dash in six seconds at an indoor meet in Portland, Oregon, equalling the world record. He followed that up with a bronze medal in Japan at the 1964 Olympic Games in the 100-metre race, and then won gold in the 100-yard sprint at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica. Jerome once again reached the podium at the 1967 Pan American Games, capturing gold on home soil in the 100 metres.

Not long after the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico where Jerome finished seventh, he retired from international competition. The Prince Albert, Sask., born Jerome went on to teach physical education with the Vancouver School Board, then was appointed to the National Fitness and Amateur Sport Program after completing his Master of Science degree.

Following his sprinting career, Jerome was an important advocate for athletes, demanding better financial support, coaching and medical attention. He used his voice to advocate for minorities, seeking better representation in broadcasting and encouraged the use of non-white models in advertising.

The sprinter left a substantial legacy, despite his relatively brief life – Jerome died suddenly at the age of 42 after suffering a seizure. He is a source of pride for all Canadians after taking on the concerns of a community – and a country – symbolizing excellence, determination and dedication.

Harry Jerome is a true Canadian hero and through it all he remained true to his personal motto: “Never give up.”

Here’s a look at the honours, awards and tributes he has received over the years:

  • Harry Jerome Scholarship Fund established at the University of British Columbia
  • BC Sports Hall of Fame inductee
  • Canadian Amateur Athletic Hall of Fame selectee
  • Appointed to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
  • Named British Columbia Athlete of the Century
  • Called to the Order of Canada
  • Harry Jerome Awards were established in 1983 by the Black Business and Professional Association
  • Harry Jerome International Track Classic is held annually each year in B.C.
  • Statue of Jerome sits in Vancouver’s Stanley Park
  • Joined Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2001
  • Featured in the documentary “Mighty Jerome” at the Vancouver International Film Festival
  • Four different venues bear his name:
    • Harry Jerome Recreation Centre (North Vancouver)
    • Harry Jerome Sports Centre (Burnaby, B.C.)
    • Harry Jerome Track (Prince Albert, Sask.)
    • Harry Jerome Weight Room (University of Oregon)


Barbara Howard

“I thought I’d disappointed Canada. I was ashamed when I came home that I didn’t have a gold medal.” – Barbara Howard

It might not have been a gold medal in the 100-yard sprint, but Barbara Howard “the most popular girl on the Canadian team” had already done what no other Black female athlete had done before her – represented Canada in international competition.

At only 17 years old, Howard broke the British Empire record for the 100-yard dash, qualifying to represent Canada at the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Australia. After spending 28 days on the ocean liner Aorangi, Howard and her teammates arrived in Sydney, where she soon became a media darling, gracing the front page of newspapers and signing autographs wherever she went.

Overwhelmed by the attention, Howard found herself distracted and not at her best, finishing sixth in the 100-yard dash. But she didn’t come home empty handed. Howard helped the Canadian women land on the podium in the 440-yard relay (silver) and 660-yard relay (bronze).

Howard returned to Canada with the hopes of competing at the Olympic Games, but the outbreak of the Second World War ended those dreams as the Games were cancelled in 1940 and 1944. By the time the Olympics resumed a decade later, Howard’s sprinting career was over.

The Vancouver-born Howard went on to become the first racialized person to be hired by the Vancouver School board, where she taught for 43-years before retiring in 1984. A hard worker who was dedicated to her community, Howard was involved with the Canadian Girls in Training program through the YWCA and volunteered at the United Church and Burnaby’s Confederation Centre.

The accolades seem almost endless, as Howard was the recipient of the Remarkable Woman Award from the Vancouver Park Board in 2010, she was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013, was named to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2018, the City of Vancouver renamed Cambie Street Plaza to Barbara Howard Plaza in her honour.


“Rapid Ray”

It was a moment in time that will live on forever – a first for a Black Canadian. It might not have been gold, but it was an achievement of Olympic-sized proportion.

Raymond Lewis, better known as “Rapid Ray” to his family, friends and teammates, was the first Canadian-born Black athlete to win an Olympic medal – bronze in the 4x400-metre relay alongside Jimmy Ball, Phil Edwards and Alexander Wilson at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Together, the group ran the medal race in a time of 3:12.8, finishing only behind the United States and Great Britain.

Lewis was born in Hamilton, Ont., in 1910, the grandson of escaped salves. As a teenager, Lewis won 17 national high school championships, en route to establishing himself as an elite track and field athlete who competed in the 100, 200, 400 and 800-yard sprints.

Finishing fourth in the 400-metre race at the Canadian Trials in 1928, Lewis qualified for the Olympic Games, but was later replaced by a White athlete – one of countless experiences that reminded Lewis of his roots and of the racism toward Black Canadians at the time.

Though disappointed, Lewis never stopped training, even while working as a porter with the Canadian Pacific Railway. During that time, he could often be found racing his shadow as he sprinted alongside the railway tracks. In order to chase his Olympic dream, Lewis gave up a month’s pay to compete at the 1932 Canadian Trials where he earned his ticket to Los Angeles.

Following Lewis’ bronze-medal win, he received few accolades. But later in life he was called to the Order of Canada (2000), and in 2002 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. An elementary school in Hamilton now boasts his name, in addition to a local track and field centre, and the Hamilton Black History Committee now awards the Raymond G. Lewis Sports Leadership Scholarship “to the individual who has accomplished significant achievements in Sports Leadership” each year.


*Over the course of February, we’ll be adding additional athlete profiles. Check back often to help celebrate their triumphs during Black History Month.

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