Ethel Hannah Catherwood (April 28, 1908 – September 26, 1987) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. Born in

Hannah, North Dakota Hannah is a city in Cavalier County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 8 at the 2020 census. Hannah was founded in 1897. Geography Hannah is located at (48.973119, -98.690639). According to the United States Census Bureau, the c ...

, United States, Ethel Catherwood was raised and educated in

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as t ...

, Canada, where she excelled at

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and track and field athletics. In 1926, as a student at

Bedford Road Collegiate Bedford Road Collegiate is a public high school on the west side of the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is Saskatoon's second oldest high school, opened on February 12, 1923. It is also known as BRCI (Bedford Road Collegiate Institute), or Bed ...

, she equalled a Canadian record for

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

at the Saskatoon city track and field championships. On Labour Day of the same year, she broke the

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-held high jump

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. In 1928, she became a member of the Matchless Six, a group of 6 Canadian women who competed at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

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, the first Olympics to allow female competitors in athletics. Catherwood took home a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in high jump, clearing . There was considerable focus on her physical attributes during the Games earning her the nickname "Saskatoon Lily". As well, a

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correspondent dubbed her the "prettiest girl athlete" at the 1928 Olympics. However, much more than a pretty face, Ethel Catherwood took home the world's first ever gold medal awarded to a female high jumper and holds the title as the only Canadian female athlete to have won an individual gold medal in an Olympic track and field event. Catherwood also held national titles in

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

, but this event became Olympic only in 1932, whereas she retired from competitions a year earlier. Upon her return from the 1928 Olympics, Catherwood was offered a movie contract, but declined the offer. She took a business course, married, and moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 1955, she was inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1966, and the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. Catherwood had an enigmatic life. After the Olympics, where she was feted as the beauty of the games, she was surrounded in scandal. Her

secret marriage Clandestinity is a diriment impediment in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It invalidates a marriage performed without the presence of three witnesses, one of whom must be a priest or a deacon. History It was promulgated in the 16th ...

to and speedy

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divorce from James McLaren, and later marriage to Byron Mitchell (whom she divorced in 1960) had the press following her every move. She refused to give interviews. Wallechinsky, David (2004). ''The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics'',

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

: Sport Classic Books. She even considered trying out for the US Olympic team in 1932. She died in California on September 26, 1987. Catherwood is the subject of a short graphic (i.e. comic) biography by David Collier entitled "The Ethel Catherwood Story," collected in ''An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories'', Ivan Brunetti ed. 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherwood, Ethel 1908 births 1987 deaths Sportspeople from Haldimand County Canadian female high jumpers Olympic gold medalists for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics People from Cavalier County, North Dakota Athletes from Saskatoon Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) American emigrants to Canada