Greg Joy

Gregory Andrew Joy (born April 23, 1956 in Portland, Oregon) is a retired Canadian high jumper who won an Olympic silver medal in 1976.

Born in the U.S. to Canadian parents, Joy lived in Vancouver from age 9 to 17 and was a member of Canada's national team from 1973 to 1982. Canada was the host nation of the 1976 Summer Olympics, held in Montreal, and the high jump contest included a battle between Joy and American Dwight Stones. Stones, the world record holder, had become unpopular in Montreal following reports that he had said he hated French Canadians—reports Stones vehemently denied (he said he had only criticized the event organizers). Stones was booed heavily by some of the crowd during the qualifying jumps and the finals, held in a rain storm, and even received an anonymous death threat. The little-known Joy became a national hero when he defeated Stones to win the silver. It was Canada's only medal in track and field, after having been shut out in the previous two Olympics. Joy was flag-bearer for Canada during the closing ceremonies. For his achievement, he was voted the winner of the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada's top male athlete of 1976 and the Norton Crowe Award as Canada's top male amateur athlete of the year.

Joy also won two NCAA titles at the University of Texas at El Paso (1975, 1977) and set a world indoor record in the high jump in 1978. He won the silver medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and won the Ontario Universities Athletics Association and Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union titles in 1983 while a student at the University of Toronto.

He has been inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

Outside of sports, Joy was executive director of the Ottawa Food Bank for six years until he was fired in 1999. His dismissal prompted the resignation of six members of the Food Bank's board. He married fellow Canadian Olympian Sue Holloway and in 2002 the two launched a motivational speaking business in Ottawa called Raising the Bar. As of 2006, he serves on the Ontario government's landlord and tenant board.

Achievements

References

*cite news |first= Kristina|last= Rutherford|authorlink= |title= The jump Canadians won't forget|url= http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/athletics/story/2008/05/15/f-olympics-highjump-joy.html|work= CBC Sports|publisher= Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date= 2008-05-15|accessdate=2008-06-21
*cite web |url= http://archives.cbc.ca/sports/athletics/topics/1316-7813/|title= The Summer of '76: Montreal's Olympic Games - Jumping for Joy|accessdate=2008-06-21 |date= 1977-01-10|work= CBC Digital Archives|publisher= Canadian Broadcasting Corporation