Lee Wright

Lee Wright was a lifetime member of the Vancouver Hawks Field Hockey Club, competing at two Olympics and three Pan American Games. Wright made his Olympic début at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, playing in all seven of Canada’s matches during the tournament. More than a decade later he returned to the Olympics for the 1976 Montréal Games, but only played in their classification match against Belgium.

In between his two Olympic appearances Wright took part in three editions of the Pan American Games, winning two medals. At the 1967 Games in Winnipeg the Canadian team just missed out on a medal after finishing fourth. Four years later he finally won a medal when Canada beat Chile 1–0 in the play-off for bronze. The Canadian team went one better at the 1979 Games when they won silver after losing to Argentina in the tournament’s final. Wright was inducted into the University of British Columbia’s Sports Hall of Fame twice; first as an athlete in 2019, and again in 2021 as part of the 1965–66 field hockey team.

Away from sport Wright taught in West Vancouver before embarking on a lengthy career as a financial advisor. His father Harold competed in track sprint events at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and later served as the President of the Canadian Olympic Association. His wife Thelma competed in middle-distance running at the München and Montréal Olympics, with their son Anthony playing in the field hockey tournament at the 2008 Beijing Games.