In his youth, Bill Thoburn ran track, played hockey, football, and water polo, boxed, and rowed. During his high school days he helped bring his team to a junior championship in ice hockey and almost attended the Olympics on his boxing merits, until a knee and ankle injury ended his chances. He then joined the Leander Boat Club of Hamilton, Ontario and, shortly thereafter, was a member of the coxed eights team that won the bronze medal in the event at the 1930 British Empire Games. Two years later, at the Olympic trials, the squad beat out the competing teams from Toronto, Winnipeg, and Montreal, and set a world record over a mile and 550-yards that would not be surpassed for a quarter-century. At the 1932 Summer Olympics Thoburn and his team captured the bronze medal, behind the strong Italian and American squads. He continued to row competitively through the 1930s and later coached the rowing team at Westdale Secondary School, one of the most successful squads in the country, to many national and international victories. He also remained affiliated with the Leander Club, helping to organize their fundraising activities.
Canada