Famous 19th Century Athletes

Tom Longboat was an Onondaga athlete who specialized in distance running. Nicknamed the bulldog of Britannia, Longboat also served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a soldier during the First World War. In 1996, Tom Longboat was honored posthumously with an induction into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. 

Edwin Flack was an Australian tennis player and athlete. In 1896, Flack became Australia's first Olympian when he represented the nation in the first modern Olympic Games. He went on to win gold medals in the 800m and 1500m events, becoming the first Australian Olympic champion. In 1985, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Refused entry in the Tour de France because she was a woman, French athlete Marie Marvingt finished the course by herself. An aviator and mountaineer, too, she later made many sporting records. She was the first female fighter pilot. She had also been a journalist, a medical officer, and a ski school instructor.

One of the two athletes representing Australia in the 1900 Paris Olympics, Australian champion sprinter Stan Rowley began athletics at school, eventually winning his first NSW 100 yards title in 1897. In Paris Olympics, he won three bronze medals for Australia, one each for 60m, 100m and 200m events and one gold as a part of a mixed British team.