Ethel Catherwood, High Jump, 1928

There are few international events that enjoy the reputation of the Olympic Games. Launched a century ago this year, the modern Olympics offer a turbulent world the important opportunity to seek peace and unity through athletic competition. This summer, athletes from around the world will continue the tradition by competing at the Olympics Games in Atlanta, Georgia, and Canada's best will be there in force. To mark the centenary, and to honour the contribution made by our athletes over a hundred years, Canada Post Corporation is pleased to unveil a new series of five domestic rate stamps featuring Canadian gold medalists. In 1928, when women were first welcomed onto the Olympic agenda, Ethel Catherwood (1909-1987) proved why women deserved to be there. On the final day of the games and in the last event in which Canadians had an entry, Catherwood, known to fans as The Saskatoon Lyli, leapt 5 feet 2.7 inches over the bar and into the record books. With that high jump, she became the first Canadian woman to win an individual gold medal in Olympic track and field competition. In 1930, she won both the high jump and javelin titles at the Canadian Womens' Track and Field Championships but then never competed again. Praised in the media for her beauty, she shunned offers for a movie career and refused all media attention. She even gave away all her medals and moved to the United States where she died in 1987 at Grass Valley, California. The new Sporting Heroes series was designed by Mark Koudis of Atlanta Art and Design Inc. of Toronto. His first work for Canada Post, the series features evocative sepia toned photographs of these five prominent medalists with the athlete's name, the event and year of victory prominent in the design. The five rings of the Olympics are faintly visible in the centre of each stamp.