Canada's Phil Edwards competes in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. (CP Photo/COA)
Phil Edwards du Canada (deuxiËme de la gauche) participe ‡ une Èpreuve d'athlÈtisme aux Jeux olympiques de Los Angeles de 1932. Edwards s'est mÈritÈ deux mÈdailles de bronze aux 800 et 1500 m. (Photo PC/AOC)
121 McGill students and alumni have competed in the Olympics. The first was Percival Molson, who represented Canada in track and field at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, MO.
McGill athletes have been mainstays at the Olympics since the 1988 Seoul Winter Games. In the past 28 years, McGill has captured over half of its medals.
The 2004 Athens Summer Games saw the largest McGill representation, with 17 McGillians competing in eight different sports.
McGill athletes have earned a podium finish more often during the Summer Olympics than the Winter Olympics, with 20 winter medals versus 15 in the summer games.
McGill’s winter Olympians, however, are far more likely to have earned gold. Of the nine athletes who have won gold medals, eight came in winter sports.
McGill’s real Olympic powerhouse is it’s hockey team. 13 of McGill’s 15 winter medals were won by hockey players.
One of those hockey medalists is Mélodie Daoust, who currently plays centre with the McGill Martlets.
Daoust is not the only Olympic representative currently in McGill athletics. Rachèle Béliveau, head coach of the Martlet Volleyball team, played for Team Canada in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.
Along with students and alumni, one McGill Professor, Percy Nobbs, a renowned architect who designed multiple buildings around McGill’s campus, competed in the 1908 London Olympics in fencing.
Dr. Phil Edwards, who graduated from McGill Medical Faculty in 1936, is not only McGill’s most decorated Olympian, but also the first black athlete from McGill to compete in the Olympics. Edwards won five bronze medals while competing in track and field in the 1928 Amsterdam Games, the 1932 London Games, and the 1936 Berlin Games.
Martlets Field Hockey host their first home game in over five years
October 22, 2024
Martlets soccer defeats UdeM Carabins in season home opener
September 4, 2024
Martlets basketball suffers another loss against bottom-of-the-pack UQÀM
January 30, 2024
