John Wood Captured Silver Medal In Canoeing Singles At 1976 Montreal Olympics

DICK LOEK / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

John Wood proudly shows off his silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The Canadian canoeing great died on Jan. 23 at age 62.

Reprinted from the Toronto Star

By: Daniel Girard Sports reporter, Published on Mon Jan 28 2013

John Wood did more than win a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

By finishing just 34/100ths of a second behind Alexandre Rogov of the Soviet Union in the 500-metre canoeing singles, he offered hope to paddlers across the continent that the dominance of the Eastern Bloc could be challenged.

“It taught the athletes in canoe and kayak in North America that it was possible to win an Olympic medal against the Soviets and the other Eastern Bloc countries,” Mac Hickox, his coach from 1973 through 1976, said in an interview Monday.

“It was a breakthrough moment.”

Wood, who paddled out of the Mississauga Canoe Club, won the first canoe medal for Canada since 1952. He also captured another silver in the two-man 500 metres with partner Greg Smith at the 1977 world championships.

Wood’s was one of five silver medals and six bronze Canada won at the Montreal Games.

In 1979, Wood won a bronze medal in sailing at the Pan Am Games.

Wood, who continued to paddle even after retiring from competition and went on to have a successful business career, died by suicide last week.

The family said that by acknowledging the cause of death of the 62-year-old, they hope it might encourage others suffering from mental illness to seek help.

Adam van Koeverden, a four-time Olympic medallist in kayak who, like Wood, has competed at three Summer Games, called Wood “a builder of Canadian sport” who not only accomplished a lot as an athlete but also was willing to share his time, expertise and stories with young competitors.

“John was so much more than just a guy who went to the Olympics and got a medal,” van Koeverden said in an interview. “He was a guy who embraced that lifestyle and that eagerness to be on the water regardless of the weather.

“He had a lifetime commitment to sport and health and fitness,” said van Koeverden, recalling him as an early-morning 10-kilometre paddler at the Burloak Canoe Club in Oakville, where Wood lived.

Dean Oldershaw, who competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in kayak, said he trained with Wood as often as he could in those years.

“I saw his back a lot,” he joked. “Fortunately, I didn’t have to race him.

“He worked harder than anyone I ever trained with or anyone I’ve ever coached. John was just such a competitor and he was like that on race day too, but it was hard work that got him there.”

Hickox, who maintained a lifelong friendship with Wood, said that tremendous work ethic extended from his canoeing days into other walks of life, including golf, sailing, business and a multitude of other pursuits.

“That was such a characteristic of John,” Hickox said. “He had such a sense of determination, almost to the point of being able to block everything out.”

A celebration of Wood’s life will be held Saturday at the Mississauga Canoe Club from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.