Nancy McCredie

One the most successful female throwers Canada has ever seen, Nancy McCredie will be remembered for being a pioneer in women’s throwing events. A member of the Don Mills Track Club in Toronto, Ontario, she was one of the continent’s dominant throwers, and holder of both the Canadian shot put and discus records. Her mark of 15.89m in the discus at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo not only produced a top-10 result, it ranked her as the top junior in the world, as a 19-year-old, for that year.

At the 1963 Pan American Games in Sao Paulo, McCredie won gold medals in the shot and discus. Four years later, she defended her shot title on home soil, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. At the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, McCredie won a shot bronze medal. Retirement came in 1968 when a knee injury cut her career short.

McCredie’s father was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the family moved frequently. During the height of her athletic career, “Nan” as she preferred to be called, lived in Brampton, Ontario, where Nancy McCredie Drive and Nancy McCredie Park, have been named in her honour. She was an artist and a singer with the Benny Louis Orchestra at The Royal York Hotel, Casa Loma, and The Seaway Towers in Toronto. Settling in Bristol, Québec in 2001, McCredie devoted her time to her artwork and animals, where she was a pet groomer, breeder, farmer (raising horses and pigs), and animal rescuer.

In 1963, McCredie was awarded the Velma Springstead Trophy as the best Canadian female athlete of the year. She was inducted into the Canadian Olympic (1968), Brampton Sports (1983), and Athletics Ontario (2016) Halls of Fame.

Personal Bests: SP – 16.14i (1964); DT – 51.60 (1964).