Graham Hood (born April 2, 1972) is a retired

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, who competed in the middle distance events.

Early life

Hood was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

to parents Colin and Brenda, but grew up in Burlington, Ontario. His father served as the Executive Director of the

Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada. OFSAA is the second largest high school ath ...

(OFSAA) and the Colin Hood OFSAA School Sport Award is named in his honour. He has two sisters. Hood attended Nelson High School where he was a four-time OFSAA champion in the 800m and 1500m. Hood was a member of the Burlington Track and Field Club and played a variety of sports during his high school years, including soccer, basketball, cross country skiing, and track and field.

Collegiate

Hood ran collegiately for the college track powerhouse

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

where he helped the team capture

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

titles in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track and field. Hood was named the Top Relay Runner among college men at the 1994

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

. Hood was inducted into the University of Arkansas Hall of Honour in 2014.

Running career

Hood represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992. He won the gold medal in the men's 1.500 metres race at the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

in his native Winnipeg. Hood is the only Canadian to have won the Millrose Games'

Wanamaker Mile The Wanamaker Mile is an indoor mile race held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. It was named in honour of department store owner Rodman Wanamaker. The event was first held in 1926 inside Madison Square Garden, which was the venue ...

, having won the 1995 edition of the event with a time of 3:57.08. Hood placed 679th overall at the

2017 Ironman World Championship The 2017 Ironman World Championship was a long distance triathlon competition held on October 14, 2017 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii that was won by Patrick Lange of Germany and Daniela Ryf of Switzerland. It was the 41st edition of the Ironman World Ch ...

, October 14 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i, finishing with a time of 10:29:28.

Personal life

Hood is married to fellow Canadian Olympian

Malindi Elmore Malindi Elmore (born March 13, 1980 in Kelowna, British Columbia) is a Canadian track and field athlete specialising in the middle-distance events. As of January 19, 2020 she holds the Canadian record for the marathon, running a 2:24:50. She was ...

and has two children.

Competition record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hood, Graham 1972 births Living people Canadian male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Sportspeople from Kelowna Athletes from Winnipeg University of Arkansas alumni Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes Nelson High School (Ontario) alumni Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada