Philip Einar Olsen (31 January 1957 – 15 March 2020) was a Canadian athlete, a

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 ...

er who competed in the finals in the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

and won a gold medal at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

. One of the most decorated track and field athletes in Canada, Olsen still holds numerous provincial and national records in the javelin.

Biography

Born in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Olsen's career began in 1970 while he attended Woodlands Secondary School. His meteoric rise started in 1973 with a gold medal performance at the

Canada Summer Games The Canada Games (french: Jeux du Canada) is a multi-sport event held every two years, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. They represent the highest level of national competition for Canadian athletes. Two ...

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

. Olsen broke a world junior record and was named the most outstanding athlete of the Canada Games. That same year, Olsen also won the prestigious Viscount Alexander Award for being the outstanding junior athlete in Canada. In 1974 as a grade 11 student, Olsen won the BC high school javelin gold medal with a record throw that still stands today. Upon graduation from

Nanaimo District Secondary School Nanaimo District Secondary School or Nanaimo District Community School (NDSS) is a public high school in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada built in 1952. Since then there have been a few renovations, most notably the 1981 construction of the "tow ...

, Olsen was recruited by the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

— one of the elite track and field programs in the United States. During his brilliant four-year career at university, Olsen was a four-time All South Eastern Conference performer and four-time All-American. His college highlight was his National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) gold medal championship performance in 1976. Olsen represented Canada on the international stage while attending Tennessee. As 11 times Canadian champion, Olsen represented Canada at many international events. At the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Olsen's preliminary and qualifying throw of over 89 meters put him in the top three of the 37 competitors. He placed 11th in the finals the following day but at the age of 19 much more was to come. Following his senior season at Tennessee, Olsen represented Canada at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. His gold performance solidified his stature as one of the world's best javelin throwers. Queen Elizabeth presented Olsen with his gold medal. Only the boycott of the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, stopped Olsen from possibly winning an Olympic medal. As the number three-ranked javelin thrower in the world at that time, Olsen had a legitimate chance of winning an Olympic medal. Olsen would go on to compete at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the a ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, placing fourth. Only an injury to his right shoulder prevented him from competing at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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 ...

. He officially retired from the sport he loved in August 1985. In 1994 a panel of Canadian sports writers named Olsen the greatest javelin thrower in Canadian history. In 2008, Olsen joined

Gerald Kazanowski Gerald Francis Kazanowski (born October 12, 1960) is a former professional and Canadian Olympic basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court ...

and Brenda Taylor—among others—as inaugural inductees into his home town's Sports Hall of Fame. Olsen was NCAA champion and four-time All-American at the University of Tennessee. Olsen died 15 March 2020 in Nanaimo from a heart attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Phil 1957 births 2020 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Pan American Games Canadian male javelin throwers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Olympic track and field athletes of Canada Pan American Games track and field athletes for Canada Sportspeople from Nanaimo 20th-century Canadian people 21st-century Canadian people Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games