The number of U of T alumni who have swum, ice-skated, bobsledded – you name it, they’ve done it – at the Olympics or Paralympics is astounding: the number has surpassed 400.
The very first U of T Olympian was George Orton (BA 1893 UC). At the Paris games in 1900, he nabbed first place in men’s 2500-metre steeplechase and third in men’s 400-metre hurdles.
The latest medallist, hockey player Jayna Hefford (BPHE 2004), took home gold from Sochi in 2014. (She also holds three other golds and a silver from previous Olympics.)
Grads have also triumphed at the Paralympics: For example, Joanne Bouw Berdan (BSc Pharm 1986) holds a whopping 10 medals – eight of them gold – in discus, shotput, javelin and long jump.
Final tally of medals? 86 (34 gold) from the Olympics, and 26 (12 gold) from the Paralympics.
Recent Posts
Clearing the Air
U of T wants to drastically cut carbon emissions by 2050. It’s enlisting on-campus ingenuity for help
The Extremism Machine
Online disinformation poses a danger to society. Researchers at U of T’s Citizen Lab are tracking it – and trying to figure out how to stop it
Charting Hip Hop’s Course
Professor Mark V. Campbell grew up during the early years of rap music. Now, he is helping preserve Canadian hip-hop culture for future generations
