British Columbia at the Summer Olympics

British Columbians have been taking part in the Summer Olympic Games since 1908, when three athletes - Sydney Brown in shooting, John Fortescue Foulkes DSO and Robert Powell in tennis - competed, but no medals were won. The first medal won by a British Columbian came in 1908, a silver won by Duncan Gillis in discus; the first gold medals wer won at the 1928 Games by Percy Williams, who won both the 100 and 200 metre sprints. The first woman to medal for BC were Lillian Palmer, Mary Frizzell, Mildred Thompson, and Agnes Szabo in the women's 4×100 metre relay at the 1932 Summer Games.

At the Summer Games, BC athletes have won 50 medals - 10 gold, 20 silver, and 21 bronze, with the greatest success coming from rowing, with 15 medals - 5 gold, 8 silver, and 2 bronze, followed by 12 from swimming (6 silver, 6 bronze), and 10 from athletics (2 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze).

Medal tables here show the top three plus BC; asterisk indicates the host nation.

= Results by year =

London 1908
The Games of the IV Olympiad held in London, UK, in 1908 marked the first time athletes represented British Columbia at the Olympics. No medals were won.

Competitors

 * Sydney Brown, shooting, men's 1,000 yard free rifle (11th)
 * John Fortescue Foulkes DSO, tennis, men's singles (round of 16, 9th)
 * Robert Powell, tennis, men's singles (round of 16, 9th)
 * Foulkes & Powell, tennis, men's doubles (round of 16, 7th)

Medals

 * S - Duncan Gillis (athletics, discus)

Antwerp 1920
No medals.

Paris 1924
The coxless four team finished second, beginning the successful history of British Columbian rowers at the Olympic Games.

Medals

 * S - Archibald Black, Colin Finlayson, George MacKay, William Wood (rowing, men's coxless four)

Amsterdam 1928
Percy Williams became the first British Columbian athlete to win Olympic gold, winning both the 100 and 200 metre sprints.

Medals

 * G - Percy Williams (athletics, men's 100m)
 * G - Percy Williams (athletics, men's 200m)
 * B - Jimmy Ball (athletics, men's 400m)

Medals

 * S - Lillian Palmer, Mary Frizzell, Mildred Thompson, Agnes Szabo (athletics, women's 4x100m)
 * S - Ernest Cribb, Harry Jones, Peter Gordon, Hubert Wallace, Ronald Maitland, George Gyles Santa Maria (sailing, 8 m class)
 * B - Philip Rogers, Gerald Wilson, Gardner Boultbee, Kenneth Glass Caprice (sailing, 6 m class)

Berlin 1936
No medals

Medals

 * B - Violet Simpson, Nancy MacKay, Diane Foster, Patricia Jones (athletics, women's 4x100m)

Helsinki 1952
No medals.

Melbourne 1956
This was the first of three straight Olympics with at least a silver medal in a men's rowing event.

Medals

 * G - Archibald MacKinnon, Kenneth Loomer, Walter D'Hondt, Donald Arnold (rowing, men's coxless four)
 * S - Philip Kueber, Richard McClure, Robert Wilson, David Helliwell, Wayne Pretty, Bill McKerlich, Douglas McDonald, Lawrence West, Carlton Ogawa (rowing, men's eight with coxswain)

Medals

 * S - Donald Arnold, Walter D'Hondt, Nelson Kuhn, John Lecky, Kenneth Loomer, Bill McKerlich, Archibald MacKinnon, Glenn Mervyn, Sohen Biln (rowing, men's eight with coxswain)

Tokyo 1964
This saw the second time a British Columbian won a medal in the men's 100 metre sprint.

Medals

 * G - Roger Jackson, George Hungerford (rowing, men's coxless pair)
 * S - Doug Rogers (judo, men's over 80 kg)
 * B - Harry Jerome (athletics, men's 100 m)

Mexico City 1968
Beginning in 1968, British Columbian medallists were inducted into the Order of British Columbia, becoming a Knight or Dame for a gold medal, an Officer for a silver, and a Member for a bronze. All of BC's medals this year came in swimming.

Medals

 * S - Elaine Tanner OBC (swimming, women's 100 m backstroke)
 * S - Elaine Tanner OBC (swimming, women's 200 m backstroke)
 * S - Ralph Hutton OBC (Swimming, men's 400 m freestyle)
 * B - Angela Connors MBC, Marilyn Wilkins MBC, Elaine Tanner MBC, Marion Lay MBC (swimming, women's 4x100 m freestyle relay)

Munich 1972
For the second Games in a row, BC swimmers won four medals - interestingly, none of them by the same athletes as four years earlier.

Medals

 * S - Bruce Robertson OBC (swimming, men's 100m butterfly)
 * S - Leslie Cliff OBC (swimming, women's 400m medley)
 * B - Donna Gurr OBC (swimming, women's 200m backstroke)
 * B - Eric Foster MBC, William Mahony MBC, Bruce Robertson MBC, Robert Kalman MBC (swimming, men's 4x100 m medley relay)
 * B - David Miller MBC, John Ekels MBC, Paul Cote MBC (sailing, Soling class)

1976 Montreal
For a third straight Games, a British Columbian won a medal in swimming, but only two medals were won in total.

Medals

 * S - Greg Joy OBC (athletics, men's high jump)
 * B - Shannon Smith MBC (swimming, women's 400m freestyle)

Moscow 1980
BC athletes did not participate.

Medals

 * G - Dame Lori Fung (馮黎明) DBC (rhythmic gymnastics, women's individual all-round)
 * S - Elizabeth Craig OBC, Tricia Smith OBC (rowing, women's pairs)
 * B - Dale Walters MBC (boxing, men's bantamweight (54 kg))
 * B - Christopher Rinke MBC (wrestling, men's freestyle middleweight (82 kg))

Medals

 * B - Dave Steen MBC (athletics, men's decathlon)

Medals

 * G - Dame Kathleen Heddle DBC, Dame Marnie McBean DBC (rowing, women's coxless pair)
 * B - Eric Jespersen MBC, Ross MacDonald OBC (sailing, Star class)

Medals

 * G - Dame Kathleen Heddle DBC, Dame Marnie McBean DBC (rowing, women's double sculls)

Medals

 * G - Sir Daniel Igali KBC (wrestling, men's freestyle 69 kg)

Medals

 * S - Ross MacDonald OBC, Mike Wolfs OBC (sailing, Star class)
 * B - Blythe Hartley MBC, Eryn Bulmer MBC (diving, women's synchronized 10 m platform)

Beijing 2008
With eight medals - two gold - this was the most successful Games British Columbia has ever had. It also marked the return of BC's prominence in rowing - since 2008, at least one medal has been won in a rowing event in every Summer Olympics.

Medals

 * G - Dame Carol Huynh DBC (wrestling, women's freestyle 48 kg)
 * G - Sir Alex Berger KBC, Sir Kyle Hamilton KBC, Sir Malcolm Howard KBC, Sir Adam Kuehn KBC, Sir Kevin Light KBC, Sir Brian Pavelich KBC (cox), Sir Ben Rutledge KBC, Sir David Steele KBC, Sir James Walker KBC (rowing, men's eight)
 * S - David Calder OBC, Scott Frandsen OBC (rowing, men's coxless pair)
 * B - Dylan Armstrong MBC (athletics, men's shot put)
 * B - Iain Brambell MBC, Liam Peters MBC, Joseph Barna MBC, Mike Lewis MBC (rowing, men's lightweight coxless four)
 * B - Ryan Cochrane OBC (swimming, men's 1500 m freestyle)

London 2012
As in 2008, six medals were won again, although this time, none were gold. Particularly notable was the bronze medal won by the women's football team.

Medals

 * S - Gabriel Bergen OBC, Sir Alex Berger KBC, William Carson OBC, Dave Csizmadia OBC, Robert Galbraith OBC, Sir Malcolm Howard KBC, Connor McPhee OBC, Sir Brian Pavelich KBC (cox) (rowing, men's eight)
 * S - Ashley Brzezinski OBC, Janine Hammond OBC, Krista Guloien OBC, Darcy Marquardt OBC, Natalie Magnani OBC, Andrea Michaud OBC, Lesley Thorsson OBC, Rachelle Viinberg OBC, Lauren Wilkinson OBC (rowing, women's eight)
 * S - Ryan Cochrane OBC (swimming, men's 1500 m freestyle)
 * B - Brent Hayden MBC (swimming, men's 100 m freestyle)
 * B - Dame Carol Huynh DBC (wrestling, women's freestyle 48 kg)
 * B - Women's football

Medals

 * S - Lindsay Jennerich OBC, Patricia Obee OBE (rowing, women's lightweight double sculls)