Bill Crothers

Bill Crothers
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born24 December 1940
Markham, Ontario, Canada
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event400/800m
ClubAgincourt/Markham
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1964 Tokyo 800 metres
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1967 Winnipeg 800 metres
Silver medal – second place 1967 Winnipeg 4 x 400 metres relay
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 1966 Kingston 4 x 440 yard relay
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1965 Budapest 800 metres

William Frederick Crothers (born December 24, 1940) is a Canadian retired athlete who competed at two Olympic Games.

Biography

Born in Markham, Crothers grew up in the Toronto suburbs of East York and Agincourt, attending high school at Agincourt Collegiate Institute before going on to study at the University of Toronto.[1][2]

At one point, Crothers held the Canadian record in all distances from 400 metres to 1500 metres and was holder of the world 800 metres indoor record. In 1963, he ran the two fastest 800 metres races of the year. He was named Lou Marsh Trophy winner as Canada's top athlete of 1963.

Crothers won the British AAA Championships title in the 880 yards event at the 1964 AAA Championships.[3][4][5][6]

Later that year, Crothers competed for Canada in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, winning a silver medal in the 800 metres. He also competed in the 400 metres, but was eliminated in the semi-finals.[7] He received the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada's top male athlete of 1964. Crothers was ranked by Track & Field News as the top 800 metres runner of 1965 and the second best of the decade.

He has been inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1965), the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1971), and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame (1997).[8]

Crothers was a pharmacist (Kiernan-Crothers Pharmacy) in the Markham area for many years, and was a trustee (and past board chair) for the York Region District School Board. Bill Crothers Secondary School, an athletic-focused secondary school in York Region opened in his honour in August 2008.

References

  1. ^ "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search".
  2. ^ "Videos: Bill Crothers, Athletics". The Bobbie Rosenfeld and Lionel Conacher Award Winners. Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  3. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  4. ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  5. ^ "Six-mile Smasher". Daily Herald. July 11, 1964. Retrieved May 8, 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "White City round-up". The People. July 12, 1964. Retrieved May 8, 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Bill Crothers". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012.
  8. ^ "Bill Crothers". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
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