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isrh

isrhisrhisrh
  • Home
  • About the ISRH
  • Open Access Data
    • Policy Timeline
    • Olympians
    • Paralympians
    • Hockey Literature
    • Indian Affairs Audit
    • Lou Marsh Project
  • Research Ideas
    • Media Analysis
    • Policy Analysis
    • Historical Analysis
  • Commentary
  • Contact

Olympians

This is an unofficial list of Indigenous athletes who have competed for Canada at the modern Olympic Games. Inclusion criteria: athletes who have been claimed by their community and who have Indigenous lived experience. Please let me know if there are errors or omissions.

1900s

1) Jack Flett (1904 St. Louis, USA)

  • Métis, Kildonen, Manitoba
  • lacrosse
  • Gold medal with Winnipeg Shamrocks

2) 1904 Mohawk Lacrosse Team (1904 St. Louis, USA)

  • Haudenosaunee      
  • lacrosse
  • Bronze medal

3) Peter Deer (1904 St. Louis, USA)

  • Kanien'kehá:ka/Mohawk of Kahnawá:ke, Quebec
  • track & field (distance running)

4) Tom Longboat (1908 London, England)

  • Onondaga, Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario
  • track & field (marathon)
  • DNF, collapsed at 20 miles

5) Fred Simpson (1908 London, England)

  • Alderville First Nation, Ontario
  • track & field (distance running)
  • 6th in marathon

1910s

6) Alex Decoteau (1912 Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Red Pheasant Cree Nation, Saskatchewan
  • track & field (distance running)
  • 6th in 5,000m 

7) Joe Keeper (1912 Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Norway House Cree First Nation, Manitoba
  • track & field (distance running)
  • 4th in 10,000m (still best result for Canada)

1920s

8) Albert Smoke (1920 Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Ojibway, Alderville First Nation, Ontario
  • track & field (marathon)
  • DNF, due to blisters

1930s

9) Kenneth Moore (1932 Lake Placid, USA)

  • Peepeekisis First Nation, Saskatchewan
  • ice hockey
  • Gold medal

1970s & 1980s

10/11) Roseanne & Roger Allen (1972 Sapporo, Japan)

  • Gwich'in First Nation (sister/brother), Aklavik, Northwest Territories
  • cross-country skiing 

12) Fred Kelly (1972 Sapporo, Japan)

  • Dene, Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories
  • cross-country skiing

13) Ernie Lennie (1976 Innsbruck, Austria)

  • Dene, Aklavik, Northwest Territories
  • cross-country skiing

14/15) Sharon & Shirley Firth (1972 Sapporo; 1976 Innsbruck; 1980 Lake Place; 1984 Sarajevo)

  • Gwich’in First Nation and Loucheux-Métis (twins), Aklavik, Northwest Territories
  • cross-country skiing

16) Alwyn Morris (1984 Los Angeles, USA & 1988 Seoul, Korea)

  • Kanien'kehá:ka/Mohawk of Kahnawá:ke, Quebec
  • canoe (kayak pairs)
  • 1984: Gold medal in 1000m kayak pairs (raised eagle feather on podium) & Bronze medal in the 500m pairs

17) Steve Collins (1980 Lake Place, USA; 1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia; 1988 Calgary, Canada)

  • Fort William First Nation, Ontario
  • ski jumping

18) Angela Chalmers (1988 Seoul, Korea & 1992 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation, Manitoba
  • track & field (middle-distance runner)
  • 1992: Bronze medal in 3000m

19) Theoren Fleury (1988 Nagano, Japan & 2002 Salt Lake City, USA)

  • Métis/Cree
  • ice hockey
  • 2002: Gold medal (first gold in men’s hockey in 50 years)

2000s

20) Waneek Horn Miller (2000 Sydney, Australia)

  • Kanien'kehá:ka/Mohawk of Kahnawá:ke, Quebec
  • water polo (co-captain)

21) Ken Tralnberg (2002 Salt Lake City, USA)

  • Métis/Dene
  • curling (5th man)
  • Silver medal

22) Monica Pinette (2004 Athens, Greece & 2008 Beijing, China)

  • Métis
  • track & field (modern pentathlon)

23) Wade Redden (2006 Turin, Italy)

  • Métis
  • ice hockey

2010s & 2020s

24) Caroline Darbyshire-McRorie (2010 Vancouver, Canada)

  • Métis, Arborg, Manitoba
  • curling
  • Silver medal

25) Mary Spencer (2012 London, England)

  • Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Ontario
  • boxing (75 kilogram, middleweight)

26) Spencer O’Brien (2014 Sochi, Russia)

  • Haida and Kwakwakw’wakw Nations, ‘Namgis (Alert Bay), British Columbia
  • snowboard slopestyle

27) Carey Price (2014 Sochi, Russia)

  • Ulkatcho First Nation, Anahim Lake, British Columbia
  • ice hockey
  • Gold medal

28) Jesse Cockney (2014 Sochi, Russia)

  • Inuvialuk from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
  • cross-country skiing 

29) Jocelyn Larocque (2014 Sochi, Russia; 2018 Pyeongchang, South Korea; 2022 Beijing, China)

  • Métis, Mallard, Manitoba
  • ice hockey
  • 2014: Gold medal (so far, only Indigenous woman to win Gold)
  • 2018: Silver medal (only Indigenous athlete in 2010s to compete in two Games) 
  • 2022: Gold medal 

30) Brigette Lacquette (2018 Pyeongchang, South Korea)

  • Saulteaux, Cote First Nation
  • ice hockey
  • Silver medal

31) Rene Bourque (2018 Pyeongchang, South Korea)

  • Métis, Lac La Biche, Alberta
  • ice hockey
  • Bronze medal

32) Kevin Koe (2018 Pyeongchang, South Korea)

  • Gwi'chin First Nation, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
  • curling

33) Liam Gill (2022 Beijing, China)

  • Liidlii Kue First Nation, Dehcho, Northwest Territories
  • snowboarding

Summary Information

  • Sex = 11 females / 22 males (including 1904 lacrosse team as one person)
  • Medals = 14
  • Most sports: track & field (8 athletes), cross-country skiing (7 athletes), ice hockey (7 athletes)
  • Most Games: Sharon and Shirley Firth (4 Olympics each), Steve Collins (3 Olympics)
  • Athlete with most medals: Jocelyn Larocque
  • First Métis athlete – 1904 / 2002 onward, 46% of athletes are Métis (6 of 13 athletes)
  • Decades with no athletes: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1990s
  • Decade with most athletes: 2010s (9 athletes)
  • Sport with most medals: men's and women's ice hockey
  • Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke, Quebec have had 3 athletes in the Games: Deer, Morris, Horn Miller

Indigenous Sport Research Hub