Nancy McCredie (February 5, 1945 – May 1, 2021) was a Canadian female

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 events ...

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 ...

. During her athletic career, she won three gold medals at the Pan American Games and one bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games. McCredie was awarded the

Velma Springstead Trophy The Velma Springstead Trophy is an award presented annually to Canada's outstanding female athlete. It is named in honour of track athlete Velma Springstead whose career ended prematurely when she died from pneumonia in 1927 when only 20 years old. ...

as the best Canadian female athlete of the year in 1963.

Career

McCredie claimed two gold medals at the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted bids to host the 1963 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports O ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and was awarded the

. McCredie also represented her native country of Canada in two events ( discus and

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

) at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan. In 1966, McCredie reported that she was going to retire from sports. At the time of her announcement, she was singing alongside the Benny Louis Orchestra. Before her retirement, McCredie won two final medals in shot put. She was awarded a bronze medal at the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth P ...

and a gold at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on its second try. It first bid for the 1963 Games at the 1959 PASO meeting in Chicago ...

. McCredie officially retired in 1968, stating a knee injury as her reason for retirement. During her career, she held the Canadian record in shot put and discus. In 2001, McCredie moved to

Bristol, Quebec Bristol is a municipality in the Ottawa Valley, on the Quebec side in the Outaouais region, part of the Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of Lac des Chats (part of the Ottawa River) across from ...

and became an artist.

Awards and achievements

In 1968, McCredie was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. She was also added to the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and the

Athletics Ontario Athletics Ontario is the governing body of track and field in Ontario, Canada. Athletics Ontario was founded in 1974 under the name Ontario Track and Field Association to replace several regional bodies under Athletics Canada. In 2008 its name was f ...

Hall of Fame in 2016. McCredie lived in

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

during the height of her athletic career, and became the namesake of Nancy McCredie Drive and Nancy McCredie Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCredie, Nancy 1945 births 2021 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1963 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Canadian female discus throwers Canadian female shot putters Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Sportspeople from Belleville, Ontario Sportspeople from Ontario Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games