Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. 52 competitors, all men, took part in 38 events in 9 sports. These games marked the introduction of winter sports to the Olympic program (competed in April 1920); Canada won its first gold medal for ice hockey.

Medalists

Gold

Winnipeg Falcons The Winnipeg Falcons were a senior men's amateur ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Winnipeg Falcons won the 1920 Allan Cup. That team went on to represent Canada in the 1920 Olympic games held in Antwerp, Belgium. There the Falco ...

( Robert Benson, Walter Byron,

Frank Fredrickson Sigurdur Franklin Fredrickson (Sigurður Franklín Friðriksson; June 3, 1895 – May 28, 1979) was an Icelandic-Canadian ice hockey player and aviator. As a player and coach, he was significant to both the amateur and professional ice hockey as ...

, Chris Fridfinnson, Magnus Goodman,

Haldor Halderson Haldor Halderson (Halldór Halldórsson; January 7, 1898 – August 1, 1965) was an Icelandic-Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. Halderson was the right wing for the Winnipeg Falcons, the Canadian team which ...

Konrad Johannesson Konrad Jonasson "Konnie" Johannesson (August 10, 1896 – October 25, 1968) was an Icelandic-Canadian aviator and ice hockey player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. As a pioneering aviator, he was instrumental in flight training as w ...

, Allan Woodman) –

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

, men's competition *

Earl Thomson Earl John "Tommy" Thomson (February 15, 1895 – May 19, 1971) was a Canadian athlete, a specialist in the high hurdles. In 1920 he became the first Olympic gold medalist in 110 m hurdles from outside the United States. Biography Born in Birch ...

–

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

, men's 110 m hurdles *

Bert Schneider Berton "Bert" Jerome Schneider (May 5, 1933December 12, 2011) was an American film and television producer. He was responsible for several topical films of the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the road film ''Easy Rider'' (1969), directed ...

–

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

, men's welterweight

Silver

* Clifford Graham –

, men's bantamweight *

Georges Prud'Homme Joseph Arthur Prud'Homme (March 12, 1898 – January 7, 1978) was a Canadian middleweight boxer who competed in the early 1920s. He won a silver medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics, losing to British boxer Harry Mallin in the final. Prud'Homme lat ...

–

, men's middleweight * George Vernot –

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, men's 1500 m freestyle

Bronze

Clarence Newton Clarence "Chris" Newton (February 3, 1899 in Toronto – October 23, 1979) was a Canadian lightweight boxer who was active during the 1920s. He was affiliated with Riverside Athletic Club in Toronto. He won the bronze medal at the 1920 S ...

–

, men's lightweight *

Moe Herscovitch Moe 'Montgomery' Hart Herscovitch (27 October 1897 – 22 July 1969) was a Canadian middleweight and welterweight boxer who competed in the early 1920s. He was also a prominent rugby football player in Montreal. Early life Born in eit ...

–

, men's middleweight * George Vernot –

, men's 400 m freestyle

Aquatics

Diving

A single diver represented Canada in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Flint competed in all three of the men's events, but did not reach the final in any. ; Men ''Ranks given are within the semifinal group.''

Swimming

Three swimmers, all male, represented Canada in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Hodgson was unable to successfully defend his 1912 championships in the 400 and 1500 metre freestyle events, not even reaching the final in either; Vernot took a bronze and a silver in those events. ''Ranks given are within the heat.'' ; Men

Athletics

14 athletes represented Canada in 1920. It was the nation's fifth appearance in the sport, having competed in athletics every time the country competed at the Olympics. The best result for the team was Thomson's gold medal in the high hurdles, as Canada took a gold medal in athletics for the fifth straight Games. ''Ranks given are within the heat.''

Boxing

The

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; french: Comité olympique canadien) is a private, non-profit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization ( ...

named

W. A. Hewitt William Abraham Hewitt (May 15, 1875September 8, 1966) was a Canadian sports executive and journalist, also widely known as Billy Hewitt. He was secretary of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1903 to 1966, and sports editor of the ''To ...

to its sub-committee for boxing to select who represented Canada at the Olympics, and had been credited with officiating hundreds of bouts as a

boxing referee The referee in boxing is the individual charged with enforcing the rules of that sport during a match. The role of the referee The referee has the following roles: *Gives instructions to both boxers before the fight *Determines when to start or ...

in Toronto. He oversaw travel arrangements for the national team to the remainder of the 1920 Summer Olympics which began in August. The boxers which he helped select won one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals for Canada.

Cycling

Five cyclists represented Canada in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Macdonald's fifth-place finish in the 50 kilometres was the best result of the Games for the Canadian cyclists.

Road cycling

Track cycling

''Ranks given are within the heat.''

Ice hockey

Winnipeg Falcons team photo at the 1920 Summer Olympics

The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) chose the

as the

1920 Allan Cup The 1920 Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The curr ...

champions to represent the Canada men's national team in

ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics Ice hockey was introduced to the Olympic Games at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. The tournament also served as the first World Championships. The matches were played between April 23 and April 29, 1920. Canada, represented by the Winnipeg ...

, instead of forming a national all-star team on short notice.Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2005), pp. 28–29 W. A. Hewitt represented the Canadian Olympic Committee and oversaw finances for the Falcons, and reported on the Olympic Games for Canadian newspapers. He and his wife were a father and mother figure to the Falcons, and sailed with them aboard from Saint John to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, then onto Antwerp. Hewitt introduced the CAHA rules of play to the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG) at the Olympics. Writer Andrew Podnieks described Hewitt's interpretation of the rules as "competitive yet gentlemanly", and that the rules of play were accepted for Olympic hockey. Hewitt refereed the first Olympic hockey game played, an 8–0 win by the Sweden men's national team versus the Belgium men's national team, on April 23, 1920. The Falcons and the Hewitts returned home aboard from

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

. The Falcons honoured Hewitt and his wife at a private dinner and presented them with a silver cup inscribed with the number 13, for the number of people who made the trip to the Olympics and the team's lucky number. ; Roster Coach: Guðmundur Sigurjónsson ; Gold medal quarterfinals ; Gold medal semifinals ; Gold medal game ;Final rank: Gold

Rowing

Five rowers represented Canada in 1920. It was the nation's fourth straight appearance in the sport. Canada sent one boat, in the coxed fours. It was unable to advance past the semifinals, taking third place in the three-boat heat. ''Ranks given are within the heat.''

Shooting

Seven shooters represented Canada in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. For the second straight Games, the Canadian shooters were unable to earn any medals.

Wrestling

A single wrestler competed for Canada in 1920. It was the nation's second appearance in the sport.

Freestyle

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{Nations at the 1920 Summer Olympics Nations at the 1920 Summer Olympics 1920 Olympics