Biography

Gerry Ouellette, a Windsor-born marksman, thrilled the nation in 1956 when he won Olympic gold in the smallbore rifle event with a perfect score of 600, a feat that had never before been accomplished by a Canadian. Ouellette started shooting at the age of 13 in high school competition. By 1951, he had claimed the national junior and cadet service rifle titles, and in 1952, he won the Lieutenant-Governor's medal. After his great Olympic triumph in Melbourne in 1956, Ouellette remained a dominant force on the shooting range. Although his primary call to fame was with the smallbore rifle, he was also a noted military rifle shooter as well as a pistol shooter of remarkable ability, as is evident from his 1957 Service Pistol Title. In 1959, Ouellette won the Canadian sporting rifle championship, as well as a gold medal and two silver medals at the Pan-American Games. Ouelette also had great success in Bisley competition. A member of 13 national Bisley teams, he was in the Queen's Prize finals on eight occasions, finishing in the top 25 twelve times. He was also the winner of three Canadian Fullbore Rifle Championship titles and four DCRA (Dominion of Canada Rifle Association) grand aggregate titles. In 1971, Ouellette and his wife, Judy, were the first husband-wife team to represent Canada at the Bisley. Though he met an untimely death in a plane crash at the age of 40, Ouellette accomplished enough to make him one of the greatest all-round Canadian rifle men of all time. Canada Post created a commemorative postage stamp in his image in 1996, and he also received honoured places in the Canadian Forces, the DCRA, and the Canadian Olympic Halls of Fame.