David Lorne Steen (born 2 January 1942)Dave Steen
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-04-03. is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who specialised in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

. He was a two-time gold medallist in the event at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

in 1966 and 1970, breaking games records both times. He had won the bronze medal at the 1962 event. His personal record was , set in 1970. He was a nine-time national champion in throwing events at the

Canadian Track and Field Championships The Canadian Track and Field Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organized by Athletics Canada, which serves as the Canadian national championships for the sport. The championships serve as part of the selection proces ...

. Also among his honours were a shot put bronze at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games, officially known as the V Pan American Games () and commonly known as Winnipeg 1967, were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on ...

and two bronze medals in the shot and discus at the

1969 Pacific Conference Games The 1969 Pacific Conference Games was the first edition of the international athletics competition between five Pacific coast nations: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. It was held from 26–27 September at the National ...

. He was coached by

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic Games, Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 2 ...

within the

Oregon Ducks track and field The Oregon Ducks track and field program is the intercollegiate track and field team for the University of Oregon located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the Division I (NCAA), NCAA Division I level and is a member of the Big ...

program and was part of the winning team for the 1962 American collegiate NCAA title. After retiring from sport, he became a writer. He was a journalist at the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' from 1968 to 1994, wrote several non-fiction books on exercise, and published his first novel ''A Bicycle Story'' in 2022.

Career

Early life

A native of

Burnaby, British Columbia Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard ...

, he became interested in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

through the exploits of his older brother Don Steen, who became the national

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

champion in 1955.How the Fitness Council Helps Canadian Sport
''Ottawa Citizen Weekend Magazine'', no.43, p.64. Retrieved on 2015-04-03. - Oct 20, 1966 His brother later named his son David Steen, who continued the family's athletic tradition. He had his first achievements in the shot put while at Douglas Road Elementary School in Burnaby, winning the school title at age eleven. At Burnaby South Secondary School he established himself as one of Canada's best young throwers by setting a national age-group record in the shot put.Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame 2002
Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2015-04-03. Steen grew to be a tall man, at six-foot and four and a half inches, and as his physique developed he reached a weight of 235 pounds. He went on to study at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

, where he became part of the

led by coach

. A central team member in the throw events, Steen placed fifth at the

NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It has been held every year since 1921, except fo ...

in 1962 and competed in the preliminaries of the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

. His contribution helped Oregon to the NCAA team title. The following year he had his best placing in NCAA competition, coming second in the shot put final.

International career

Steen won his first national title as a teenager in 1960, winning the

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

, which was not very developed at a national level at that point. His first national title in the shot put came at the

in 1962. His winning mark of was by far the best ever performance in the competition's history at that point.Canadian Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-04-03. This earned him his first major international call-up for the

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North ...

, held in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia. There he had a throw of , which would have won all previous titles but on this occasion was a close third behind Martyn Lucking and Mike Lindsay.Commonwealth Games
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-04-03. In the 1963

season he achieved a Canadian record of , having previously become the first Canadian to throw sixty feet, achieved earlier that year in a Portland, Oregon meet where he defeated Parry O'Brien a two-time Olympic champion and world record holder. For a few weeks in 1963 Steen's top throw was ranked first in the world; he finished the year seventh globally. He was among Canada's top prospects for the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

, but in 1963 he criticized the attitude of officials at the Canadian Amateur Athletic Union, saying that they were not sufficiently concerned with the well-being of the nation's athletes.Kollins, Rick (1963-10-11)
Fistaminations for a Quiet Wednesday
''The Varsity Toronto'', vol. 83, no. 8. Retrieved on 2015-04-03. Suffering heavily from

infectious mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

, he ultimately missed the entire 1964 season, including the Olympic competition. Steen returned to form in 1965 with a second career title at the Canadian Championships and a season's best of . He also won his first national title in the discus throw, doing so with . The following year he set a new shot put personal best of to win the Canadian title in a championship record. This mark ranked him eleventh in the world that season and went unbettered nationally until Bruce Pirnie's 1972 win. The

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. The event was followed by the 1966 Commonweal ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

saw Steen became Canada's first ever shot put gold medallist at the competition. His winning throw of was a large improvement on the Commonwealth Games record set by Lucking four years earlier. In addition to the shot put, he competed in the discus event and placed fourth. He took a shot put and discus double at the 1967 national championships and his best throw that year was . He came close to that seasonal peak at the

, which were held on home turf in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, Canada. He was the bronze medallist behind two Americans who were world leaders at that point: Randy Matson, who was Olympic champion the year after, and Neal Steinhauer, the top ranked putter in 1969. Steen's 1967 medal was Canada's first in the Pan American men's shot put (his compatriot

Nancy McCredie Nancy McCredie (February 5, 1945 – May 1, 2021) was a Canadian female track and field Athletics (sport), athlete. During her athletic career, she won three gold medals at the Pan American Games and one bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games. ...

won the women shot that year). Steen was Canadian champion in the shot put in both 1968 and 1969, solidifying an unbeaten run from 1965. The latter title was his last at national level. He was selected for the Canadian team for the inaugural

and a performance of in the shot put and in the discus brought him two bronze medals. His teammate George Puce was the discus winner at the event in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. He returned to defend his shot put title at the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in all eve ...

. The 28-year-old successfully topped the podium again, winning the gold medal with a new games record (and lifetime best) of . He was the first man to defend that title since Harry Hart did so in 1934. He again competed in the discus throw as well, and ranked tenth with a mark of . This was the last major competition of his career. He was inducted into the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Cana ...

in 1977.

Writing and coaching

After his retirement from competition he began coaching young athletes in the 1970s. This included novelist

Lawrence Hill Lawrence Hill (born January 24, 1957) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, and memoirist. He is known for his 2007 novel '' The Book of Negroes'', inspired by the Black Loyalists given freedom and resettled in Nova Scotia by the British after the A ...

—a keen teenage runner—whom Steen advised to focus on writing after a poor outcome of a fitness test. His athletes also included three Olympians - John Craig, Paul Craig, and Brian Maxwell. Maxwell went on to be the co-inventor of Power Bars.Hill, Lawrence (2014).
Blood: A Biography of the Stuff of Life
', p. 72. Oneworld Publications. Retrieved on 2015-04-03. He was a writer and editor for the ''

'' from 1968 to 1994. Steen wrote several books, including the ''Canadian Pilot's Fitness Manual'' in 1979 before moving into

youth sport Youth sports is any sports event where competitors are younger than adult age, whether children or adolescents. Youth sports includes school sports at primary school, primary and secondary school, secondary level, as well as sports played outsid ...

with ''Aerobic fun for kids'' in 1982 and ''Exercise is fun'' a decade later.Steen, David 1942-
World Cat. Retrieved on 2015-04-03. He published ''A Bicycle Story'' in 2022, a mystery novel covering cycling, ageing and crime.1677 The rough side of cycling
''The British Columbia Review'' (2022-12-21). Retrieved 2023-11-18.

Personal life

He married Margaret Daly, also a journalist, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in late 1963, though this was short-lived. Steen married for a second time in 1967 to Cassie Gairdner, a former Eastern Canadian junior champion discus thrower (introduced by Cassie’s brother and then Steen's teammate, Olympic decathlete

Bill Gairdner William Douglas Gairdner (October 19, 1940 – January 12, 2024) was a Canadian track and field athlete in the men's 400 m hurdles and the men's decathlon at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He was awarded a silver medal in decathlon e ...

). They had 3 children: Laura Jane, Heather and Stefan. In 1996 he moved back to British Columbia to live by the ocean, write, and take up competitive cycling.

International competitions

National titles

**Shot put: 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969 **Discus throw: 1965, 1967 **Hammer throw: 1960

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steen, Dave Living people 1942 births Sportspeople from Burnaby Canadian male shot putters Canadian male discus throwers Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Pan American Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian male journalists Canadian sports journalists Toronto Star people Canadian exercise and fitness writers Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Canadian Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics