Donald A. MACLEOD

Don MacLeod, who took up cross-country skiing in the 1950s, was the only native-born member of Canada’s 4x10 km relay team at the 1964 Winter Olympics, as Martti Rautio and Eric Luoma were born in Finland and Franz Portmann was born in Switzerland. The squad finished 15th and last in the event, while MacLeod was placed 38th among 69 starters in the 30 km and 34th out of 71 starters in the 15 km. He is much better known, however, for founding the Canadian Winter Ski Marathon in 1967, which was intended originally to celebrate the nation’s centenary and, as of 2018, is often used to support charitable causes. The event quickly became a national tradition and he remained involved in its organization until his death in 2015.