Sam Richardson

Sam Richardson took up track and field athletics at Toronto’s Central Technical School, competing as a junior until 1933. The following year, his impressive performance at the trials landed him a spot on the Canadian delegation to the 1934 British Empire Games for his international début. There, he was the surprise winner of long jump and also took silver in the triple jump, behind Jack Metcalfe of Australia. At the trials for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he set a Canadian record in the triple jump and also won the long jump. At the Games, he was 14th and 20th in the long and triple jumps respectively, and also placed fifth with the Canadian 4x100 metres relay team, alongside Bruce Humber, Lee Orr, and Howie McPhee.

In 1938, shortly after retiring from active competition and having difficulty finding work, he plead guilty to breaking into a house with an accomplice and stealing several items. He later worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a stagehand and was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1977. In 2018, Central Technical named a laneway in his honour.

Personal Bests: 100y – 9.8 (1935); LJ – 7.59 (1935); TJ – 14.81 (1938).