Joseph-Étienne Desmarteau (4 February 1873 – 29 October 1905) was a Canadian

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

, winner of the weight throwing event at the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...

Biography

Born in Boucherville,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Desmarteau was member of the Montréal Athletic Club was one of the top competitors in the 56 lb (25.4 kg) weight throwing event, which is no longer an Olympic event. In 1902 he had won the American AAU championships, beating John Flanagan. Flanagan broke the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in the event prior to the 1904 Olympics, making him one of the favourites for the event along with Desmarteau. To compete in the Olympics, Desmarteau, a fire officer in

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, had to ask for a leave of absence to go to St. Louis, but he was denied by his employer. He decided to go anyway, which cost him his job. In St. Louis, his first throw was 34 ft 4 in (10.46 m), enough for victory over Flanagan, who did not manage better than a 33 ft 4 in (10.16 m) throw. At the 1904 Olympics, Desmarteau was the only non-American to win in the field events. Desmarteau received a hero's welcome back in Montréal and was rehired as a police officer. The following year, he died, possibly of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

. A district, a park and a sports arena in Montréal have been named after him; the Étienne Desmarteau Centre was used as a venue for

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

during the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

. The District d'Étienne Desmarteau is part of the borough of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie. It is contended that Desmarteau was the first Olympic Games champion from Canada, although

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

champion George Orton, who ran for an American university, was also Canadian.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desmarteau, Etienne 1873 births 1905 deaths Track and field athletes from Quebec Sportspeople from Boucherville Canadian male shot putters Canadian male discus throwers Canadian police officers Male weight throwers Olympic weight throwers Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Infectious disease deaths in Quebec Deaths from typhoid fever

Biography

See also

References

External links