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Etienne Desmarteau
Born: February 4, 1873
Birthplace: Boucherville, Quebec
Died: November 30, 1905
Inducted: 1955
Sport: Athletics
Category: Athlete
Highlights
1904
St. Louis Olympic Games - Gold medal for weight toss
1976
Olympic facility named in his honour
1949
Inducted into the Canadian Olympic Sports Hall of Fame
Biography
As a policeman in Montreal, Etienne Desmarteau competed annually in Police Games in Montreal, Toronto, New York, and Boston, specializing in the 56-pound weight toss (a precursor to the modern hammer throw). In addition to the weight toss, he was a strong shot-putter and one of the best at tossing the caber and throwing the 16-pound hammer. Sponsored by the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, Desmarteau, who was refused leave from the police force, resigned his job to be part of the first ever Canadian delegation to the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis. He threw a 56-pound weight 34'4" to bring home the first Olympic gold medal Canada ever won. In 1976, in honour of this momentous achievement, a park at which some of the Montreal Olympics events took place was named after Desmarteau - commemorating how Canada started its Olympic Games journey 72 years previous. Shockingly and sadly, one year after Desmarteau brought home the gold medal, he succumbed to typhoid fever, ending a noble life as a Canadian hero.
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