Don Linden was born in England, but immigrated to Canada at a young age. A well-known racewalker with the Toronto West End YMCA, he was selected to represent Canada at the 1906 Summer Olympics. At the Games, Linden gave American George Bonhag, a man who had never participated in a walking event, advice on how to compete and encouraged him to enter the event. Although Bonhag probably used illegal tactics that amounted to running, he was not called out on it and won the race after the first finishers, Robert Wilkinson of Great Britain and Eugen Spiegler of Austria, were disqualified. The judges later decided that Bonhag’s performance was questionable and set up a rematch between Linden and Bonhag. The latter never showed, however, but was able to keep his gold medal nonetheless, leaving Linden to settle for silver. Linden continued to compete after the Games, but never got another chance at Olympic glory. By career he was a draftsman.
Canada