Edward Archibald (athlete)

Archibald was the youngest boy in his family, which included seven children. His father was a Methodist preacher, and Archibald had a strict religious upbringing.[3] Archibald recalled that Sunday's were dedicated to church attendance and reading the bible; there was "no card playing allowed in the house on Sundays and no dancing".[3] Archibald was offered an athletic scholarship to attend Syracuse University in New York, but declined it, and instead enrolled at the University of Toronto.[3]

In 1905, at the University of Toronto, he set an intercollegiate pole vault record of 10' 2¼", and later, a world record of 12' 5½".[4] In 1906, he traveled to Greece and competed in the "Athens Olympics", commonly known as the Intercalary Games, an athletic competition that honored the 10th anniversary of the first Olympic Games in 1896.[3] Unfortunately during his trip by train to the event, his personal vaulting pole, fastened to the side of the train, came up missing.[3] He was lent a replacement pole by Greek officials. He finished 10th in the pole vault event, and 7th in the men's pentathlon.[4]

In 1907, he graduated from the University and competed locally as a member of the Toronto YMCA. In 1908, he was selected to represent Canada at the 1908 Summer Olympics.[4] Archibald also served as his country's flagbearer at the Olympics.[4] He won a bronze medal in the pole vault event, that he shared jointly with American Clare Jacobs and Swede Bruno Söderström.[3] He was also presented a diploma by Lord Desborough, President of the British Olympic Council, and during the event, he was described by King Edward VII as "the best example of a true Canadian that he had ever met."[3]

Archibald worked as prospector, and was also involved with the YMCA. In 1915 Archibald traveled overseas where he was in charge of sports and recreation programs for the soldiers.[4] When he returned, he worked as a sports editor at the Ottawa Journal, and was instrumental in getting a sporting goods store opened for the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Federation.[3]

In 1924, he opened a boy’s summer fitness and wilderness camp, near Lake Wanapitei, in Sudbury, Ontario. Twenty years later, he expaned the camp to include a YMCA’s sports program, which was dedicated to Canada’s World War II veterans.[3]

Archibald died in 1965, at the age of 80 in Toronto.[2] In 2001, he was inducted into the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame.[4]

• Olympic sports
• List of lakes in Ontario
• YMCA

• Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian (July 11, 2015). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0952-2.
• Roxborough, Henry Hall (1975). Canada at the Olympics. McGraw-Hill Ryerson. ISBN 978-0-07-082328-0.

• Canadian Medals by Olympic Games at TSN.ca
• Ed Archibald at the 1908 London Games