Ray Lewis

For the American Football star, see Ray Lewis (NFL)

External link

• Obituary from CBC

Raymond Gray Lewis (Oct. 8, 1910-Nov. 15, 2003). Canadian track and field athlete and first Canadian-born black to win an Olympic medal. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Ray Lewis was dubbed Rapid Ray for his speed on the track. While excelling in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metre distances in high school, Lewis was subjected to racism from coaches, teachers and the public. Despite this, he captured 17 national 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 came back after a semester. He found a position on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) as a porter during the Depression, 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 Los Angeles Olympics. Two years later he won a silver medal in the mile relay at the British Empire Games (later the Commonwealth Games). 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.

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Sources: Rapid Ray: The Story of Ray Lewis, by John Cooper; Maclean's Magazine.

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