Frank AMYOT

Frank Amyot took up canoeing at Ottawa’s Rideau Canoe Club in the 1920s, but was forced to build his own vessel as he could not afford to buy one and was too large to fit in most of canoes of the day. He eventually joined the Britannia Yacht/Boating Club and won six national championships in the singles from 1929 through 1935. He capped off his competitive career by being selected to represent his nation at the 1936 Summer Olympics but, despite being chosen as captain and manager of the delegation, he was still forced to raise his own funds to attend the Games. He made it to Berlin and, despite not having trained in the C1-1000 vessel until reaching Germany, he came out on top of the six-man field in the event, earning Canada’s only gold medal of the 1936 Olympics and its last until George Genereux picked up another in trap shooting in 1952. He also competed in the more familiar K1-1000, but was eliminated in the heats.

Amyot retired from active competition after the Games and became involved in sports administration, focusing his efforts on making the Canadian Canoe Association responsible for the funding of Olympic participants. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II, eventually reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and then had a career with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs until his death. He was made a member of the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1949 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1955.