Ray Lewis (track and field)

Raymond ("Ray") Gray Lewis, C.M. (October 8, 1910 – November 15, 2003) was a track and field athlete, and the first Canadian-born black Olympic medalist.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario,cite press release| title = "Tigertown Triumphs"| publisher =The Hamilton Spectator-Memory Project (Souvenir Edition) page MP56| date =2006-06-10| accessdate = 2007-01-28] Lewis was nicknamed "Rapid Ray" for his speed on the track. While excelling in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metre distances in high school, Lewis was subjected to racism from coaches, teachers and the public. Despite this, he captured seventeen national championships (including a record four in one day) while a student at Hamilton's Central Collegiate.

Lewis briefly attended Milwaukee's Marquette University on a scholarship but came back after a semester. He found a position on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) as a porter during the Great Depression, a job he would hold for 22 years. Lewis continued training – often running alongside the CPR train tracks during stopovers on the Canadian Prairies – and won a bronze medal as part of the 4x400 metre relay team at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

Two years later he won a silver medal in the mile relay at the British Empire Games (later the Commonwealth Games). Narrowly missing the cut for Canada's 1936 Olympic team, he ran for two more years before retiring after a bout of pain from shin splints; shin splints had caused Lewis problems in the latter part of his running career. He received greater recognition later in his life, including the Order of Canada in 2001; a Hamilton school named in his honour, Ray Lewis Elementary, was opened in 2005.

Further reading

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References

*"Rapid Ray's Triumph," by John Cooper, Maclean's Magazine, December 27, 2004 edition, page 88.

External links

* [http://www.cbc.ca/pcgi-bin/templates/sportsView.cgi?/news/2003/11/17/Sports/lewis-ray031117 Obituary from CBC]