Bill Gairdner

Canada’s Bill Gairdner achieved success as an athlete, academic, and author. Gairdner competed in the decathlon at the 1963 Pan American Games where he won the silver medal. This performance earned him a place on Canada’s athletics team for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics where again he competed in the decathlon, this time finishing 11th. He also ran in the 400 metres hurdles at the Tokyo Games but did not advance from the heats. Gairdner was an eight-time winner at the Canadian Track and Field Championships with titles in the 110 metres hurdles (1962–63, 1966), 400 metres hurdles (1964, 1966, 1971), and decathlon (1962, 1964). He was also a two-time finalist at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games, first in the 440 yards hurdles in 1966, before reaching the final of the 400 metres hurdles in 1970.

Alongside his athletics career Gairdner gained his first MA from Stanford University in 1967 while studying structural linguistics. His second MA from Stanford came in 1969 in English literature and creative writing before graduating the following year with a PhD in English literature. Gairdner then became a prolific author, columnist, and essayist and wrote multiple books about economic matters. His 1990 book “The Trouble With Canada” sold more than 60,000 copies and was a number-one bestseller. He continued to be active in sports throughout his life as a keen cyclist and cross-country skier, competing in World Masters events in the latter.

Personal Bests: 400H – 51.3y (1970); Dec – 6989 (1964).