Fanny Rosenfeld
Rosenfeld, Fanny
Fanny Rosenfeld, "Bobbie," track and field athlete, sportswriter (b in Russia 28 Dec 1905; d at Toronto 14 Nov 1969). Canada's woman athlete of the half century, Bobbie Rosenfeld entered international athletics in 1928, the year women were first admitted to the Olympic Games. She held Canadian records in the running and standing broad jump and in the discus; at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics she took the silver medal in the 100 m dash and was lead runner for the women's 4 x 100 relay team that won in a record time of 48.2 sec. Bobbie Rosenfeld was also joint holder of the 11-sec, 100-yard world record. Bobbie Rosenfeld was elected to the Canada Sports Hall of Fame in 1949 and was voted Canada's female athlete of the first half of the century in 1950. A plaque in her memory was unveiled in her hometown of Barrie, Ont, 13 June 1987.
Rosenfeld, Bobbie
Rosenfeld was Canada's female athlete of the first half-century (courtesy Canada's Sports Hall of Fame).
1928 Women's Relay Team
Canada’s women's relay team from the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. The team won gold, finishing the race in a record time of 48.4 seconds and beating their own record by almost a second. From left to right are Grace Conacher, Bobbie Rosenfeld, Myrtle Cook and Rosa Gross (courtesy Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, www.sportshall.ca).
Author TED BARRIS
Links to Other Sites
Women in Canadian Sport
This series of biographies of outstanding Canadian women athletes is part of the Celebrating Women’s Achievements series from Library and Archives Canada. Also includes teaching guides and references.
Canada's Sports Hall Of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame promotes Canada's extensive and colourful sport heritage. Check out their website for illustrated biographies of Canadian athletes.
The Matchless Six: The Story of Canada's First Women's Olympic Team.
A review of Ron Hotchkiss' book "The Matchless Six", which focuses on the first Canadian women's Olympic team at the 1928 Summer Games in Amsterdam. From the website for the Manitoba Library Association.
The Dominion government's advertisement asked for volunteers "able to read and write either the English or French language" with "good antecedents" who were good horsemen...
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