There are a number of young stars destined for greatness who are proud of their Canadian roots. Follow our guide for the top athletes on the rise. Let’s exploce The Famous Athletes With Canadian Roots below.
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The Famous Athletes With Canadian Roots
Cory Joseph
The 24 year old point guard (#6) for the Toronto Raptors, “Cory Joe” grew up in nearby Brampton in a family full of athletes. His parents Connie and David Joseph played at Mount Royal College in Calgary, and older brother Devoe last played for Budućnost Podgorica of Montenegro in the 2016 season. He attended Pickering High School in Ajax, later going to the University of Texas.
Cory was initially drafted to the SA Spurs in 2011, breaking ground as it was only the second time in NBA history that two Canadians (alongside his friend Tristan Thompson) were selected in the first round of the same draft of that year. Joseph later won his first championship with the Spurs in 2014, eventually signing for the Raptors in 2015 with a reportedly $30 million dollar contract.
Tristan Thompson
Currently playing for the Cleveland Cavs, Tristan Thompson was born in Toronto and grew up in Brampton with fellow 905’er Cory Joseph, although they have currently put their friendship on hold for the time being. Thompson began at St.
Marguerite d’Youville Secondary School in nearby Brampton, eventually ending up at The University of Texas alongside Cory Joseph, and was drafted to the Cavs in 2011, where he still plays as a center or power forward averaging just under 10 points per game. He is pictured below (right) with Team Canada mate Cory Joseph.
Connor McDavid
How could we compile a list of notable young athletes without the first round NHL draft pick of the 2016 season. Connor McDavid grew up in Richmond Hill, and attended Premier Elite Athletes’ Collegiate, a private school for elite athletes near Downsview Park.
Granted “Exceptional Player” by Hockey Canada, McDavid was able to enter the OHL a year early, playing for the Erie Otters. As a child destined for greatness, he was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015.
Donovan Bailey
Canada produced a pair of elite sprinters in the late part of the 20th century, but only one of them did it legitimately. Just a few years after Ben Johnson had his Olympic medals stripped due to doping, Donovan Bailey captured the hearts of a nation during the 1996 Atlanta games.
The Jamaican born, Canadian sprinter won gold in the 100m setting a new world record of 9.84 seconds in the process. He also led the 4 x 100m relay team to a gold medal in the same Olympics.
Nancy Greene
Nancy Greene, nicknamed “Tiger” for her aggressive style of skiing, is one of the most decorated alpine skiers in Canadian history. Previously dominated by the Europeans, Greene took over in 1967 winning the inaugural World Cup and seven out of 16 events on the circuit that year.
She was named Canada’s Athlete of the Year in 1967 and followed it up with another World Cup title in 1968, as well as a gold and silver medal in the Olympics and another gold medal at the world championships. Greene is now a large figure in the B.C. ski industry.
Wayne Gretzky
The first of five hockey players on the list is also the most obvious. “The Great One” holds almost every NHL record you can think of and helped Edmonton become the City of Champions in the late 1980s. This is once of The Famous Athletes With Canadian Roots.
Gretzky’s 1,963 assists in the NHL are greater than anyone else’s points totals, although Jaromir Jagr might have something to say about that before he hangs up the skates. At the time of his retirement, Gretzky held 61 NHL records and hometown: Brantford, Ontario.
Abhinav Bindra is the first Indian individual athlete to win a gold medal in the Olympic games. He won the 10 metre Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. India hadn’t won a gold medal since the men’s hockey team took first prize at the 1980 Olympics.
Bindra is also a former World Shooting Champion and a gold medalist in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. His shooting career began early with Bindra becoming the youngest participant in the 1998 Commonwealth Games at just 15 years old.
