Fanny Rosenfeld

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Fanny Rosenfeld (second from left) at the 1928 Olympic Games

Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld (born July 5 or December 28, 1903 , 1904 or 1905 in Yekaterinoslav , Russian Empire , † November 14, 1969 in Toronto ) was a Canadian athlete and Olympic champion .

The true date of birth of Fanny Rosenfeld is in the dark. In 1905 her family emigrated to Barrie , Ontario . In 1922 the family moved to Toronto and Fanny earned a living as a typist at the local Patterson chocolate factory . She only had time for sport in the evenings and weekends. She was interested in all kinds of sports and was active in various clubs herself. A writer is said to have once remarked: "The sporting career can best be summarized like this ... She was not a good swimmer."

In 1928 Rosenfeld traveled to the Olympic Games in Amsterdam . Prior to the competitions, the press dubbed the small group of Canadian female athletes “The Incomparable Six”. Rosenfeld won gold in the 4 x 100 meter relay together with Ethel Smith , Florence Bell and Myrtle Cook , the silver medal in the 100 meter run behind the American Betty Robinson and in front of her compatriot Ethel Smith and a fifth place in the 800 meter run . She scored more points for her country in these games than any other athlete for his respective country.

After returning to Canada, she developed arthritis , which kept her away from exercising for months. In 1931 she wanted to build on her sporting success with an ice hockey team, but a second attack in 1933 prevented her from doing so. After that, she retired from athletics forever. In the following years she wrote for the daily newspaper Toronto Globe and Mail , in which she got her own column Sports Reel from 1937 . Her main concern was the equality of women in admission to sporting competitions. As Canada's first female athlete, she was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in 1955 , and in 1996 the Canadian Postal Service issued a stamp in her honor. In 1969 Rosenfeld died at the age of probably 65.

In 1991, a square between the CN Tower and the neighboring Rogers Center in Toronto in Bobbie Rosenfeld Park was named in memory of the athlete. The square, which is laid out with cobblestones, is planted with numerous plants.

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personal data
SURNAME Rosenfeld, Fanny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rosenfeld, Bobby (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian athlete
DATE OF BIRTH July 5, 1903, or December 28, 1903, or July 5, 1904, or December 28, 1904, or July 5, 1905, or December 28, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Yekaterinoslav , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH November 14, 1969
Place of death Toronto