 Orton wearing his University of Pennsylvania uniform, 1897 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | January 10, 1873 Strathroy, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||||||
| Died | June 24, 1958 (aged 85) Laconia, New Hampshire, USA | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Event | steeplechase | ||||||||||||||
| Club | University of Pennsylvania Toronto Lacrosse and Athletics Association | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
George Washington F. Orton (January 10, 1873 – June 24, 1958) was a Canadian middle and long-distance runner. In 1900, he became the first Canadian to win a medal at an Olympic Games. He won a bronze in the 400 metre hurdles, and then, forty-five minutes later, won the gold medal in the 2500 metre steeplechase.[1] He was the first athlete with a disability to win an Olympic gold medal. At the University of Pennsylvania, for whom he competed while earning his Masters (MA in 1894) and Doctorate (Ph.D. in 1896) and completed his ability to speak 9 languages,[2][3] he was captain of Penn's track and field team in 1896 and was a founder and captain of its ice hockey team in 1896–1897, and was known as "The Father of Philadelphia Hockey". He won seventeen U.S. National Track and Field titles.
- ^ "George Orton". Olympedia. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- ^ "Wins Fame as a Teacher, Orton, Famous College Athlete to be Headmaster at Banks Business College," Philadelphia Bulletin, June 25, 1905.
- ^ https://www.guelphhistoricalsociety.ca/archives/historic-guelph/volume-46/the-first-canadian-olympic-champion-george-orton-of-guelph Greg Oakes, "The First Canadian Olympic Champion: George Orton of Guelph", Guelph Historical Society, Vol. 45, 2002 (updated 2022).