Susan "Sue" Marie Nattrass, (born November 5, 1950) 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 ...

trap shooter and medical researcher in

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...

. She was born in

Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are within ...

. Competing at an elite international level from the 1970s through the 2010s, Nattrass has had multiple appearances, in one or both of trap or double trap, at

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 ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, and

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

. Nattrass is a repeat World Champion and repeat medalist at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and Pan American Games. She was the flag bearer for

Canada at the 2007 Pan American Games This is a list of medals won by participants representing Canada at the 2007 Pan American Games. Medals Gold *Men's 400 m hurdles: Adam Kunkel *Men's hammer throw: James Steacy *Men's shot put: Dylan Armstrong *Women's 800 metres: Diane Cummin ...

(and a gold medal winner) and the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

. As of the 2012 Olympics, Nattrass is one of only 122 athletes (and one of only 46 still active), all sports, to compete in at least six Olympic Games, appearing in 1976, '88, '92, 2000, '04 and '08. She won a gold medal at the World Championships in 1974, '75, '77, '78, '79, '81, and 2006.

Beginnings

She was introduced to trap shooting by her father

Floyd Nattrass Floyd Nattrass (2 January 1918 – 7 December 2004) was a Canadian sports shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — ...

, who competed for Canada at the World Championships in 1958 and 1968 and at the Olympics in 1964. Nattrass said of her father:

"While other kids would go to the lake for the summer, we always went to trap shoots. My dad started when I was 5; we'd go to shoots, and I did everything I could do be a part of it. Then when I turned 12, he taught me how to shoot."

Olympics and Commonwealth Games

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 ...

she became the first ever woman to participate in a shooting event at the Olympics, as shooting was open to both sexes until 1992. She won a silver medal at the 2001 world championships in

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

in the trap event. She finished 9th in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

and 6th in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in women's trap shooting. At the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

Nattrass won three medals: two silver in women's double trap pairs and women's trap pairs and a bronze in women's trap. She won the Trap Shooting event at the World Championships in 1981 and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, twenty-five years apart. After the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, the International Shooting Union decided to discontinue the trap and skeet shooting events for women and instead allow women to compete in the double trap, where two clay saucers are thrown simultaneously. This is a difficult transition that Nattrass - who won two World Cups in the double trap in 1993 - equated to a downhill skier having to switch to cross-country. She led a campaign - writing letters, doing surveys, playing politics - against the decision to remove the two events. After five years, the campaign succeeded and women's skeet and trap shooting remained in the Olympics. In 1981, she was awarded the

Lou Marsh Trophy The Northern Star Award, formerly known as the Lou Marsh Trophy, the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, wit ...

as Canadian Athlete of the Year and was made an Officer of 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 ...

. She is also listed as a recipient of the Vanier Award for Outstanding Young Canadians. She has travelled around the world at various competitions for over three decades, nearly always accompanied by her mother and coach Marie. Nattrass serves on the board of directors, Sections Chairs of the Shooting Federation of Canada.

Education and research

Nattrass earned a bachelor's degree in Physical Education from the University of Alberta in 1972 and a Masters in 1974, and has since been an instructor, administrator, lecturer and consultant in physical education and sports psychology. In between her first and second Olympic appearances in 1976 and 1988, she earned her doctorate from the University of Alberta in 1987. Since 1996, Nattrass has lived on

Vashon Island Vashon is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon–Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,6 ...

near

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. She moved there when she joined the

Pacific Medical Center The Pacific Tower, formerly the Pacific Medical Center, is a 16-story building at 1200 12th Avenue South on Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was completed in 1932 and opened the following year as a U.S. Publ ...

as a medical researcher in September 1996. She owns and runs the Puget Sound Osteoporosis Center, where she studies the effects of aging in bones on active sportswomen in their forties and older, takes part in clinical trials, and provides pro-bono screenings in the community.

Awards and achievements

* Shooting Federation of Canada, Female Athlete of the Year - 1993, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 *Washington State Trapshooting Hall of Fame - 2017 *Seven-time Women's World Trapshooting Champion 1974 – 1981, 2006 *World record holder Women's Trapshooting 1974 – 1989; Double Trap 1993 *Six-time Olympian – 1976, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008 Canadian Olympic teams *Two-time gold medalist Women's Double Trap World Cups 1993 *Four-time silver medalist at World Championships 1971, 1982 *U.I.T. silver medalist at 1995 Pan American Games *Winner of a Canadian Championship for 43 years *Silver medalist World Cups: 2000; Bronze medalist World Cups: 2000, 2001 *Two-time silver and three-time bronze medalist at Commonwealth Games - 2002, 2006, and 2010 *Gold medalist at Pan American Games 2007 *Bronze medalist at World Championships 2005 *University of Alberta Alumni Award 2004 *Bronze medalist Pan American Games 2003 *Silver medalist at World Championships 2001 *Inducted into the Amateur Trapshooting Association's Hall of Fame 1998 *Canada's Female Athlete of the Year 1977 & 1981 *Silver medalist at World Championships 1991 *Great Canadian Award 1990 *Inducted into Edmonton's Sports Hall of Fame 2000 *U.I.T. gold medalist at 1988 Olympics *Mayor's Silver Ribbon Award 1987 *One of Edmonton YWCA's Women of the Year 1987 *Bronze medalist at World Championships 1986 *Inducted into University of Alberta's Wall of Fame 1985 *Bronze medalist at World Championships 1985 *One of the Five Outstanding Young Canadians 1983 *Bronze medalist at World Championships 1983 *Premier's Award (Alberta Athlete of the Year) 1982 *Silver medalist at World Championships 1982 *Edmonton's Amateur Athlete of the Year 1981 *Inducted into Alberta Sports Hall of Fame 1980 *Ontario Athlete of the Year 1977 *Inducted into Canadian Sports Hall of Fame 1977 *Inducted into Canadian Olympic Association Hall of Fame 1975 *Canadian Athlete Reference - The Canadian Encyclopedia

Results in World Championships

References

External links

*
Susan Marie Nattrass
at ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...