Canadian olympic athletes biography books

The overarching goal of Mark Hebscher’s The Greatest Athlete (You’ve Never Heard Of) is to provide a biography of George Orton, who is now considered Canada’s first Olympic medalist and champion.

Orton was Canadian but in 1900, when the idea of the “national team” had not yet reached the Olympics, individuals were considered to represent clubs, and Orton was with the University of Pennsylvania. Thus while his victory in the 2,500 metres steeplechase, and his bronze medal in the 400 metres hurdles, at that year’s Paris Games are credited to the United States, he is considered by Olympic historians to be Canadian.

Regardless of one’s opinion on which nation deserves the Olympic “credit”, Orton’s life and career were little-known for over a century after his achievements, and this is the issue that the author is attempting to resolve by providing a comprehensive biograph