Local History & Genealogy

For Pyeongchang 2018, Canada is sending its largest Winter Olympic delegation to date—and Ontario is the most represented province with 68 athletes!

Using Toronto Public Library's Digital Archive, we can look back at some of our former Winter Olympians. Below is a selection of figure skaters, skiers and hockey players who were all born in Ontario. Even if some of these Olympic athletes did not compete for Team Canada, they all share the same provincial birthplace. (All photos courtesy Toronto Star Photograph Archive.)

You can explore more photos of the Winter Olympics in the Digital Archive.

Figure Skaters

Suzanne Morrow (left), born in Toronto, Ontario

Olympics: St. Moritz 1948, Oslo 1952

Wally Diestelmeyer (right), born in Kitchener, Ontario

Olympics: St. Moritz 1948

Norris Bowden (left), born in Toronto, Ontario

Olympics: Olso 1952, Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956

Frances Dafoe (right), born in Toronto, Ontario

Olympics: Olso 1952, Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956

Barbara Wagner (left), born in Toronto, Ontario

Olympics: Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956, Squaw Valley 1960

Robert Paul (right), born in Toronto, Ontario

Olympics: Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956, Squaw Valley 1960

Toller Cranston, born in Hamilton, Ontario

Olympics: Sapporo 1972, Innsbruck 1976

Barbara Underhill (centre), born in Port Elgin

Olympics: Lake Placid 1980, Sarajevo 1984

Paul Martini (right), born in Weston, Ontario

Olympics: Lake Placid 1980, Sarajevo 1984

Kelly Johnson (left), born in Willowdale, Ontario

Olympics: Sarajevo 1984

John Thomas (right), born in Brampton, Ontario

Olympics: Sarajevo 1984

Brian Orser, born in Belleville, Ontario

Olympics: Sarajevo 1984, Calgary 1988

Lloyd Eisler (standing), born in Seaforth, Ontario

Olympics: Albertville 1992, Lillehammer 1994

Skiers

Nancy Greene, born in Ottawa, Ontario

Olympics: Squaw Valley 1960, Innsbruck 1964, Grenoble 1968

Betsy Clifford, born in Ottawa, Ontario

Olympics: Grenoble 1968, Innsbruck 1976

Dave Irwin, born in Thunder Bay, Ontario

Olympics: Innsbruck 1976, Lake Placid 1980

Laurie Graham, born in Orangeville, Ontario

Olympics: Lake Placid 1980, Sarajevo 1984, Calgary 1988

Hockey Players

Brian Glennie, born in Toronto, Ontario

Olympics: Grenoble 1968

Dave Hannan (right), born in Sudbury, Ontario

Olympics: Albertville 1992

Wayne Gretzky, born in Brantford, Ontario

Olympics: Nagano 1998

Brett Hull (right), born in Belleville, Ontario

Olympics: Nagano 1998, Salt Lake 2002

Curtis Joseph (left), born in Keswick, Ontario

Olympics: Nagano 1998, Salt Lake 2002

Rob Blake, born in Simcoe, Ontario

Olympics: Nagano 1998, Salt Lake 2002, Turin 2006