Frank Havens

Frank Havens is America’s top individual medal winner among Olympic canoeists. His specialty was distance races, no longer on the Olympic program. In addition to the two medal winning performances, Havens competed in the shorter Canadian singles events in 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960. Havens won 10 National Championships, winning the Canadian singles championship in 1950-52, 1954, 1956-57, and 1961, as well as participating on several of the winning Canadian pairs and fours teams. After serving in the US Army during World War II, Havens lived most of his life in the Washington, DC area where he paddled for the Washington Canoe Club. His career was in insurance as an auto adjuster. Havens was an honorary life member of the Washington Canoe Club, a member of the American Canoe Association, and has been inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the Arlington Sports Hall of Fame, and the Washington and Lee High School Sports Hall of Fame.