Gerald Ouellette, Smallbore Rifle, Prone, 1956

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. Gerry Ouellette (1934-1975), a tool designer from Windsor, Ontario, was not expected to beat the Soviet Union's shooters at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. In fact, Canada's hopes lay with Ouellette's teammate, Gil Boa, our top shooter in the 1952 Olympics. For the prone smallbore (.22 caliber) event, the two shared Boa's rifle as it was the better firearm. The results were a magnificent surprise. Boa shot 598 out of 600 to take the bronze, while Ouellette scored a perfect 600 to win the gold. For the first time, Canada had won two Olympic medals in the same shooting event. After the Olympics, Ouellette was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, then returned to take silver in the 1967 Pan American Games. Tragically, in 1975, he died when his private plane struck power lines and crashed. 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.