Misplaced Pages

Jim Elder

Elder in 1961
Personal information
Birth name	Robert James Elder
Born	27 July 1934 (1934-07-27) (age 90) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
Sport	Equestrian
Event(s)	Show jumping, 3-day eventing
Medal record Representing  Canada Olympic Games 1968 Mexico City Team jumping 1956 Stockholm Team eventing Pan American Games 1959 Chicago Team eventing 1971 Cali Team jumping 1983 Caracas Individual jumping 1983 Caracas Team jumping 1967 Winnipeg Team jumping 1975 Mexico City Team jumping World Championships 1970 La Baule Team jumping

Robert James Elder, OC (born 27 July 1934) is a Canadian retired businessman and former equestrian. He competed at six Olympic Games between 1956 and 1984, winning one gold and one bronze medal. He missed the 1964 and 1980 Olympics because Canada did not send eventing and jumping teams there.

Biography

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Elder started competitive jumping at the age of 16 in 1950. During 36 years of competition, he won an Olympic gold medal, one Olympic bronze, five Pan American medals, and a world title. Elder was Canada's flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the 1972 Munich Olympics.

In 1983, he was honoured with the Order of Canada. He was inducted into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1968), Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1971), Canada's Walk of Fame (2003), Canadian Eventing Hall of Fame (2009), and the Jump Canada (2010) Hall of Fame.

Elder graduated from the University of Toronto, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and he later ran a successful refrigeration company. Since retiring, he has worked with Big Brothers and several other charity foundations, including the Community Association of Riding for the Disabled in Ontario and the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association. He is also one of the co-founders of the Toronto Polo Club.

Elder's brother, Norman Elder, was an author and explorer. He was also an Olympic equestrian rider at the 1960 and 1968 Olympics. The brothers were on the same eventing teams at the 1959 Pan American Games and 1960 Olympics.

See also

• List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games

References

1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jim Elder". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2009-06-06.
2. "1972 Munich". Canadian Olympic Committee. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
3. Jim Elder. Canada's Walk of Fame
4. "Norman Elder". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2010-02-26.

• 1934 births
• Living people
• Canadian male equestrians
• Equestrians at the 1956 Summer Olympics
• Equestrians at the 1960 Summer Olympics
• Equestrians at the 1968 Summer Olympics
• Equestrians at the 1972 Summer Olympics
• Equestrians at the 1976 Summer Olympics
• Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics
• Event riders
• Officers of the Order of Canada
• Olympic bronze medalists for Canada
• Olympic equestrians for Canada
• Olympic gold medalists for Canada
• Equestrians from Toronto
• Canadian show jumping riders
• Olympic medalists in equestrian
• Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics
• Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
• Pan American Games medalists in equestrian
• Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
• Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
• Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada
• Equestrians at the 1959 Pan American Games
• Equestrians at the 1967 Pan American Games
• Equestrians at the 1971 Pan American Games
• Equestrians at the 1975 Pan American Games
• Equestrians at the 1983 Pan American Games
• Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games
• 20th-century Canadian sportsmen