Don McFarlane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don McFarlane (born May 18, 1926 in London, Ontario) was a Canadian runner.
[edit] Life
While at Burlington Central High School, Don played as a half-back on both the Junior and Senior Football teams and was a member of the 1948 Championship senior team. However, he was more active in track and field, particularly the 100 and 220 yard sprints, and won many races at both distances and set a record of 10.0 seconds in the 100 yd. sprint race.
He later attended University of Western Ontario where he won the 100 and 220 yard races in all 4 years. Don established a new record of 9.9 seconds in the 100 yd. sprint during the Senior Intercollegiate Championship in 1951. He also competed as a member of the Hamilton Olympic Club and won several junior and senior Canadian Championships.
He was ranked number 1 in the country in 1952-1954, and was selected as a member of the 1952 Canadian Olympic team that competed in Helsinki, and the 1954 British Empire Games team that went to Vancouver. In the latter games Don won a silver medal in the 100 yard sprint in a time of 9.7 seconds, and anchored the 4X100 relay team which won Canada’s only gold medal in track and field in a new record time of 41.3 seconds.
[edit] Highlights
- 1948 M.M. Robinson Athletic Scholarship Medal Awarded to BCHS Athlete of Year
- 1951 Hec Philips Memorial Trophy – Awarded to the Most Outstanding Performance in the Senior Intercollegiate Track and Field Championships
- 1952 and 1954 Awarded the Trophy as the Most Outstanding Athlete in the Hamilton Olympic Club
- 1954 Silver Medal – 100 yard Sprint – British Empire Games – Vancouver, BC
- 1954 Gold Medal – 4X100 yard Relay – British Empire Games – Vancouver, BC
- 1974 Awarded a Provincial Sport Citation by the Province of Ontario
- 1991 Inducted into the McMaster University Sports Hall of Fame
