Walter Ignace d'Hondt (born September 11, 1936 in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England) was a Canadian rower and Olympic champion.

Personal life

He is the brother of

Miss Canada Miss Canada is a beauty pageant for young women in Canada. It was founded in Hamilton in 1946. No title was awarded from 1993 through 2008. The trademark was purchased in 2009 by a Québec organization who produces the pageant under the name t ...

1959,

Danica d'Hondt Danica d'Hondt (born 29 May 1939) is an English-Canadian actress, writer and businesswoman. She was a winner of the Miss Canada pageant in 1958 and has worked in American television and film, and theater productions in the San Francisco area. B ...

, who is a Canadian-American-British actress, restaurateur, and author. He is the father of women's basketball player Gillian D'Hondt and the uncle of film actress,

America Olivo America Athene Olivo (born January 5, 1978) is an American actress and singer best known as a member of the band Soluna, for her roles in the films ''Bitch Slap'' (2009), '' Friday the 13th'' (2009) and ''Maniac'' (2012), as well as starring in ...

. He was educated at The John Fisher School in Surrey.

Career

He received a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in ''coxless fours'' at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

in Melbourne, together with Archibald MacKinnon,

Lorne Loomer Lorne Kenneth Loomer (March 11, 1937January 1, 2017) was a Canadian competition rower and Olympic champion. He received a gold medal in ''coxless fours'' at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, together with Archibald MacKinnon, Walter D'Ho ...

and Donald Arnold."1956 Summer Olympics – Melbourne, Australia – Rowing"
(Retrieved on May 14, 2008) At the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

, D'Hondt received a gold medal in ''eights'', and a silver medal in ''coxed fours''. He received a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in ''eights'' at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome, as a member of the Canadian team."1960 Summer Olympics – Rome, Italy – Rowing"
(Retrieved on May 14, 2008)

Awards

D'Hondt was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1958. He was inducted into ''British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame'' in 1966, and into ''University of British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame'' in 1993, together with the other members of the Olympic gold team."1956 UBC Four Oared Rowing Crew"
– ''University of British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame'' (Retrieved on May 14, 2008)

References

External links

* 1936 births Living people Canadian male rowers Olympic rowers for Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic silver medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Richmond, London Rowers from Greater London Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics University of British Columbia alumni Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Pan American Games medalists in rowing Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Rowers at the 1959 Pan American Games 20th-century Canadian people 21st-century Canadian people Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games People educated at The John Fisher School {{Canada-rowing-bio-stub