John Tait

Who was John Tait?

John Tait was a Canadian athlete. Known as Canada's "Boy Wonder", he competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. He was born in Toronto, Ontario.

In 1908, at just 19 years of age, Tait won his first round heat of the 1500 metres with a time of 4:12.2. Despite the relatively slow time, Tait won by nearly fifty yards. His time in the final was much quicker, at 4:06.8, and he finished in fourth place.

Tait also competed in the 1908 marathon and the 5 miles, failing to finish in either event.

In 1912, facing speculative news from doctors that his heart had become enlarged from eight gruelling years of training and competition, Tait finished fourth in his heat of the 1500 metres, failing to qualify for the final. He also competed in the marathon, again failing to finish.

Outside of the Olympics, Tait was one of the most versatile middle and long distance runners in the world, and one of the great milers of his era. In 1907, he finished just 10 yards behind Tom Longboat in the gruelling 15-mile Montreal Marathon road race, with both runners being watched in the streets by a crowd of 200,000.