Google Canada is celebrating Canadian track star Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld today, who participated in the first Olympics that allowed women to compete in track and field.
A strong advocate for women in sports, Rosenfeld was born in Ekaterinoslav, Russia on this day in 1904, and her family moved to Barrie, Canada during her infancy.
Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Rosenfeld’s 118th birthday, who was nick-named “Bobbie” for her bobbed hair. As a young girl, she excelled in sports such as basketball, softball, lacrosse, hockey, and tennis.
Today we’re celebrating 🇨🇦 track star Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld, a strong advocate for women in sports
She participated in the first Olympics that allowed women to compete in track and field🏃♀️
Check out today’s @GoogleDoodles to read more on her legacy ➡️https://t.co/HUfPRzORu1 pic.twitter.com/UCCR5hjmwI
— Google Canada (@googlecanada)
The race that spurred Rosenfeld’s track career was a sporting carnival, where her softball teammates encouraged her to enter the 100-yard dash and she beat the top Canadian sprinter.
After that run, she underwent intense training and began making headlines at competitions like the Canadian National Exhibition’s Athletic Day and Ontario’s first women’s track and field championship.
Rosenfeld sprinted in the 1928 Olympic games in Amsterdam–the first Olympics where women were allowed to compete in track and field. She narrowly missed first place and earned a silver medal in the 100-meter race and her relay team won gold in the 4×100-meter relay.
Rosenfeld was among the first athletes inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and bestowed the Canadian woman athlete of the first half-century award.
