NORTH SAANICH, B.C. — She was once hailed as Canada’s best athlete and Elaine Tanner has the accolades to prove it as a teenage swimming prodigy known as…
But her most cherished medal came outside the pool. It’s a sterling silver Medal of Service, the forerunner to the current Officer of the Order of Canada medal.Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or any newsletter. Postmedia Network Inc.
Now, almost 55 years since Mexico, Tanner says from her Victoria-area home that she has turned losing gold into her greatest victory. “I thought my big quest in life was to win gold at the Olympic Games, but I realized that’s not the gold that hangs around your neck,” said Tanner.In 1970, Tanner became the youngest Canadian to be awarded the Medal of Service, created to recognize exemplary achievement and service to the nation.Article content
“I must have been four-foot-nine and probably just under 90 pounds soaking wet,” said Tanner. “I was really small. I got up on the podium to receive my medal and the other girls were towering over me and a coach from Ocean Falls, the swim coach, yelled, ‘Way to go Mighty Mouse.’More national titles, world records, and gold medals at Commonwealth and Pan American games followed.
Tanner and Olympic ski champion Nancy Greene Raine are likely among the few living Canadians who still have a Medal of Service, said Christopher McCreery, who has written a dozen books on Canadian orders, decorations and medals.Article content
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