Robert James Elder,
OC (born 27 July 1934) is 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 ...
retired businessman and former
equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
* Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
. He competed at six
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
between 1956 and 1984, winning one gold and one bronze medal. He missed the 1964 and 1980 Olympics because Canada did not send eventing and jumping teams there.
[
]
Biography
Born in 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 ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Elder started competitive jumping at the age of 16 in 1950. During 36 years of competition, he won an Olympic gold medal, one Olympic bronze, five Pan American medals, and a world title. Elder was Canada's flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the 1972 Munich Olympics.
In 1983, he was honoured with the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
. He was inducted into the 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 ...
(1968), Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Canad ...
(1971), Canada's Walk of Fame (2003), Canadian Eventing Hall of Fame (2009), and the Jump Canada (2010) Hall of Fame.
Elder graduated from the University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...
fraternity, and he later ran a successful refrigeration company.[ Since retiring, he has worked with Big Brothers and several other charity foundations, including the Community Association of Riding for the Disabled in Ontario and the ]Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association
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 ...
. He is also one of the co-founders of the Toronto Polo Club.
Elder's brother, Norman Elder
Norman Sam Elder (July 17, 1939 – October 15, 2003) was a Canadian explorer, exotic animal owner, writer, artist, Olympic equestrian and one of Toronto's eccentrics. He was the owner of the Norman Elder Museum at 140 Bedford Road in th ...
, was an author and explorer. He was also an Olympic equestrian rider at the 1960 and 1968 Olympics. The brothers were on the same eventing teams at the 1959 Pan American Games and 1960 Olympics.[
]
See also
* List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games
A small fraction of the world's population ever competes at the Olympic Games; an even smaller fraction ever competes in multiple Games. 849 athletes (260 women and 589 men) have participated in at least five Olympics from Athens 1896 to Beiji ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder, Jim
1934 births
Living people
Animal sportspeople from Ontario
Canadian male equestrians
Equestrians at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Event riders
Officers of the Order of Canada
Olympic bronze medalists for Canada
Olympic equestrians of Canada
Olympic gold medalists for Canada
Sportspeople from Toronto
Canadian show jumping riders
Olympic medalists in equestrian
Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Pan American Games medalists in equestrian
Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada
Equestrians at the 1959 Pan American Games
Equestrians at the 1967 Pan American Games
Equestrians at the 1971 Pan American Games
Equestrians at the 1975 Pan American Games
Equestrians at the 1983 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games