Francis Amyot (September 14, 1904 – November 21, 1962) was a Canadian sprint canoeist who competed in the 1930s. He won Canada's only gold medal at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-s ...

Biography

Amyot was born in

Thornhill, Ontario Thornhill is a suburban district in the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada, split between the City of Vaughan (its western portion) and the City of Markham (its eastern portion), with Yonge Street forming the municipal boundary. T ...

. On June 18, 1933 Amyot saved

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

Dave Sprague David Shafer Sprague (August 11, 1910 – February 20, 1968) was a star football player in the Canadian Football League for eleven seasons for the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall ...

and Eddie Bond from

drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...

, when their canoe overturned on Lake Deschenes. Amyot won Canada's only gold medal at the

in the C-1 1000m canoeing event. This proved embarrassing to Canadian officials who had refused to pay his way. In 1936, Britannia Boating Club raised money for Frank Amyot's Olympic Fund campaign. When he won the 1000 meter championship in the 1936 Olympic Games, Frank Amyot of BYC raced the

Canadian canoe Canadian is the byname used in some countries for the descendants of the birch bark canoe that was used by the indigenous peoples of Northern America as a convenient means of transportation in the densely forested and impassable areas of Nor ...

, which is different from the type of canoe he had raced in Canadian Canoe Association meets. Although he had seen blueprints, Amyot paddled the Canadian canoe for the first time during the final training stages in Germany. On July 18, 1942, Lieutenant Frank Amyot attended a meeting of 17 Britannia Boating Club members, in army and civilian war jobs during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, at Holborn Restaurant in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. When his body was examined by medical personnel during an autopsy, they found cancer all over his body, which they believe is the cause of his death.

Legacy

Amyot was inducted into the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Cana ...

in 1949 and

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada ...

in 1955. In 1964, the

Britannia Yacht Club The Britannia Yacht Club (BYC) is a private social club, yacht club and tennis club based in Britannia, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1887 by a group of cottagers. BYC is located on an extension of land at the eastern end of Lac ...

presented the Frank Amyot Memorial Trophy awarded to Junior Men C-15

Canoe Kayak Canada Canoe Kayak Canada (french: Canot Kayak Canada) is the governing body of competitive canoeing and kayaking disciplines in Canada. The three specific disciplines represented are flatwater, whitewater and marathon. Canoe Kayak Canada officially re ...

Canadian Sprint Canoe Kayak Championships, in loving memory of Frank Amyot, a life member of the club, Olympic Single Blade Singles C-1 Gold Medallist (1936), and distinguished member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.Canoe Kayak Canada trophies Canadian Sprint Canoe Kayak Championships
In 2012, the

stairwell featured a display with a photo of Frank Amyot and a collection of his trophies. Britannia Yacht Club stairwell with Frank Amyot photo and trophies

Britannia Yacht Club stairwell with Frank Amyot photo and trophies

References

Frank Amyot Canadian Encyclopedia
*Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Men's Canadian Singles 1000 Meters". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. london: Aurum Press Limited. p. 479. {{DEFAULTSORT:Amyot, Frank 1904 births 1962 deaths Canadian male canoeists Canoeists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists of Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in canoeing Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics People from Thornhill, Ontario Deaths from cancer in Ontario