'She was fiercely competitive': Saskatoon historic Olympic medal winner honoured

A photo of Ethel Catherwood hangs in the hall at Bedford Road Collegiate, her former high school in Saskatoon. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)

One of Saskatoon’s most famous Olympians finally gets her official recognition — and it’s been almost a century in the making.

Ethel Catherwood attended high school at Bedford Road Collegiate in Saskatoon in the early 1900s and was the first woman to win a gold medal in the Olympics in track and field. Catherwood’s medal was the only gold won by a Canadian woman in track and field until recent games.

A plaque was unveiled at the high school Tuesday, outlining Catherwood’s contribution to women’s sport and the struggles she faced as a female in a male dominated area.

Kristin Catherwood Mantta, a distant cousin of Catherwood, was on hand for the ceremony.

She said it was emotional for her to see the recognition given to a woman who achieved so much at a time when women had to overcome many societal barriers. She said it makes her proud to see Bedford Road honour her with the plaque ceremony.

“She was fiercely competitive, as [in] the one story I shared, kind of psyching out her opponents and winning title upon title, and not just in high jump. She was also an excellent javelin thrower, and so she was truly an athlete, a natural talent, a sportswoman,” Catherwood Mantta told CTV News.

Catherwood set multiple national and world records in the high jump and the javelin throw while facing endemic sexism as a young woman. She won that gold medal in high jump at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games, the first to include women’s track and field.

By succeeding in high jump, Catherwood helped challenge public opinion of women’s athletic skills, opening the door to future opportunities for female athletes in track and field, and other sports.

Student athletes from Bedford Road were at the ceremony and said Catherwood is an inspiration for them as girls in sport.

“Seeing her pictures around the school is a constant reminder of who she was and what she stood by. And it was just really an honour to talk about her because she was a great athlete,” grade 12 student Enaya Khan told CTV News.

Khan plays basketball and volleyball at the school, while classmate Isra Haq plays basketball. Haq says sexism still exists in sport, but what Catherwood had to endure so long ago is hard to imagine.

“She kind of paved the way for female athletes at the school,” grade 12 student, Haq said.

Valerie Korinek, Saskatchewan representative of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada spoke at the ceremony, telling the crowd of students, staff and guests about Catherwood’s early days as a gold medalist at the 1928 games.

“She was one of the most photographed women at that Olympic Games. And that's because in addition to her athletic achievement, she was a very beautiful woman. And that brought her, much unwarranted and or unwanted attention,” Korinek said.

The crowd heard Catherwood didn't like the media exposure. She didn't like to be hounded by the press, asked intrusive questions about her personal life. Ultimately, she left the spotlight and went to live in California.

“I think that what’s in this history is also so contemporary to us. We know that there are different standards for female athletes today, particularly in some sports where there's a heavy emphasis on beauty in addition to athletic excellence. And so that is an important part of this piece, how women weren't supposed to be at the Olympic Games,” she said.

There are two photos of Catherwood in the hallways of Bedford Road and her name sits atop a banner in the gym featuring students from the school, who went on to compete in the Olympic games through the years.