Raymond Gray Lewis, CM (October 8, 1910 – November 15, 2003) was a Canadian track and field athlete, and the first Canadian-born black Olympic medalist. The descendant of African-American slaves, he was born and died in Hamilton, Ontario. Lewis was nicknamed ''Rapid Ray'' for his speed on the track. He excelled in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metre distances in high school and captured seventeen national high school championships (including a record four in one day) while a student at Hamilton's Central Collegiate. Lewis briefly attended Milwaukee's Marquette University on a scholarship, but returned to Canada after only a semester. He found a position on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

(CPR) as a porter during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, a job he would hold for 22 years. Lewis continued training – often running alongside the CPR train tracks during stopovers on the Canadian Prairies – and won a bronze medal as part of the 4x400 metre relay team at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

in Los Angeles, California. In the 400 metre event he was eliminated in the quarter-finals. Two years later he won a silver medal in the mile relay (4×440 yards) at the

British Empire Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

(later the Commonwealth Games). In the 440 yards competition he was eliminated in the semi-finals. Narrowly missing the cut for Canada's 1936 Olympic team, he ran for two more years before retiring after a bout of pain from shin splints (shin splints had caused Lewis problems in the latter portion of his running career). He received greater recognition later in his life, including the Order of Canada in 2001. In 2002, Canadian author John Cooper wrote his biography, ''Rapid Ray: The Story of Ray Lewis''. The children's book chronicled his youth in Hamilton, as well as his training for the Olympics. A Hamilton Mountain school named in his honour, Ray Lewis Elementary, opened in 2005 and was occasionally visited by his widow Vivienne.

References

Other sources

sports-reference.com
* * ''Rapid Ray's Triumph,'' by John Cooper, Maclean's Magazine, December 27, 2004 edition, page 88.
Obituary from CBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Ray 1910 births 2003 deaths Canadian male sprinters Black Canadian track and field athletes Canadian people of African-American descent Olympic track and field athletes of Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Members of the Order of Canada Athletes from Hamilton, Ontario Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games