Duncan Gillis (January 3, 1883 – May 2, 1963) was 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 ...

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

who competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

. Gillis was the first to serve as Canada's flag bearer during the Olympic opening ceremonies.

Early life and career

Gillis was born in

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

, and died in North Vancouver,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He competed for Canada in the

held in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 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 ...

where he won the silver medal with a best throw of 48.39 meters. He also participated in the discus throw event and finished 14th.

References

External links

profile
* 1883 births 1963 deaths Canadian male hammer throwers Canadian male discus throwers Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Canada Canadian people of Scottish descent People from Cape Breton Island Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Track and field athletes from Nova Scotia {{Canada-hammerthrow-athletics-bio-stub