Bob Dixon (athlete)

Robert Samuel Dixon (30 December 1909 – 11 January 1941) was a Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw.

Bob Dixon
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Canada
British Empire Games
Gold medal – first place 1934 London Javelin

In a comparatively weak field, he won the gold medal at the 1934 British Empire Games ahead of the local opposition in London, throwing 60.02 m (196 ft 10+3⁄4 in) to beat South Africa's Harry Hart (who was winner of the shot put and discus that year).[1][2][3][4]

At national level, he won one javelin title at the Canadian Track and Field Championships, topping the podium in 1934.[5]

Dixon spent time in the Vancouver Police Force[6] and played lacrosse with the New Westminster Salmonbellies with whom he competed for the Mann Cup in 1930. He also coached the Canadian lacrosse team at the 1932 Summer Olympics.[7]

At one point, he enrolled in a school for machine gunners near Los Angeles and joined a group of California-based mercenaries and headed to China.[7]

Dixon did two tours as a pilot in China, and allegedly became the right-hand man of influential Chinese warlord Zhang Zuolin, according to newspaper reports.[7]

Dixon's time in China also included a stint with the Chinese Airforce during the Sino-Japanese War. He returned to Canada when war was declared in Canada and immediately enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force.[6]

Serving as a test pilot in the RCAF, he died in an airplane crash in Grosse Isle, Manitoba during World War II.[8] He was later inducted into the Richmond Sports Wall of Fame.[9]

References
  1. Commonwealth Games: Men’s javelin. Athletics Weekly (2014-07-23). Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  2. Games Results for Robert Dixon Archived 2016-03-25 at the Wayback Machine. Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  3. “Adding to the gaiety of things sporting”: Stanley Wilson, the leading British javelin-thrower of the 1930s. Track Stats (March 2008). Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  4. Commonwealth Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  5. Canadian Championships Medallists 1900–2012. Athletics Canada. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  6. City of Richmond, BC (January 12, 2017). "Flying Officer Robert Samuel Dixon". City of Richmond, BC. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  7. CBC News (November 13, 2016). "Athlete of the week: Bob Dixon, RCAF pilot". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  8. Robert Samuel Dixon Archived 2016-03-27 at the Wayback Machine. Canada At War. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  9. Richmond Sports Wall of Fame launched with 16 inductees. Richmond. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
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