Vancouver’s Percy Williams (wearing 667 on his jersey) sprinted to gold in the 1928 Olympic 100-metre final with a time of 10.8 seconds on the dirt track at Amsterdam’s Olympic Stadium.
With this victory, Williams became the first individual British Columbian athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal.
A few days later, Williams did it again, winning his second Olympic gold medal in the 200-metre.
Experts around the world were shocked. Few outside of Vancouver had ever heard of the skinny 20-year-old. His Olympic gold medal performances were so unexpected that he really couldn’t explain it himself. When asked what his secret was, Percy just shrugged and said, “I just ran.”
To this day, Percy remains one of only nine male athletes to have won the Olympic sprint double, a select list that includes legends such as Jesse Owens and Usain Bolt. Many credit Percy for putting Vancouver on the world sports map for the first time. He returned home from the Olympics to one of the largest parades in the city’s history.
Two years later, Percy set the 100m world record with a time of 10.3 seconds and won the 100-yard gold medal at the inaugural 1930 British Empire Games (today known as the Commonwealth Games) in Hamilton. He was one of the BC Sports Hall of Fame’s inaugural inductees in 1966. A 1972 Canadian Press poll named him Canada’s greatest Olympic athlete.
A school in Scarborough, Ontario bears his name. A Canada Post stamp honouring him was released in 1996. A statue of Percy in a crouched starting stance is located at the BC Sports Hall of Fame’s front entrance at Gate A of BC Place.
But Percy’s greatest legacy? It might be the design of the Canadian flag itself. When George Stanley, the man tasked with creating Canada’s new flag in the mid-1960s, sought something that summed up Canada, he remembered the above photo of Percy Williams.
“I was so impressed with a picture of Percy Williams winning a gold medal in the 1928 Olympics that it always stayed in my mind and inspired me when I was designing the flag. As Williams breasted the tape, you could see the large maple leaf on his jersey and there was no doubt everyone knew he was from Canada," said Stanley.
Next time you see the Canadian flag flowing in the breeze, spare a thought for ‘Peerless’ Percy Williams, one of the most under-appreciated Canadian athletes in history.
The BC Sports Hall of Fame celebrates over 150 years of sporting achievement in British Columbia, inspiring future generations through its collection of 28,000+ artifacts. With exhibits honouring legendary athletes, teams, and sports organizations, we highlight the history of sports in B.C. and the individuals who’ve shaped its rich sports culture.
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