Wendy Dell
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Birth name | Wendy Irving | ||||||||||||||
Nationality | Canadian | ||||||||||||||
Born | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | 11 November 1951||||||||||||||
Spouse | George Dell | ||||||||||||||
Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
Sport | Equestrian | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Wendy Dell (née Irving; born 11 November 1951) is a Canadian equestrian. She competed in the three-day event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.[1][2]
Dell is a Canadian equestrian who gained prominence as the first woman to represent Canada in the Olympic three-day event at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Born in Hull, Quebec, Canada, she has made contributions to the sport both as a competitor and in various capacities post-competition.[3][4][2]
Early life and career[edit]
Dell's equestrian career began in her youth, leading to a gold medal win at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia when she was only nineteen years of age.[2] This early success established her as a prominent figure in Canadian equestrian circles.[citation needed]
Olympic breakthrough[edit]
At the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, Dell became the first woman to represent Canada in the Olympic three-day event.[5][1]
Among the male dominated 73 competitors, Dell, 20 at the time, was the youngest of the only three women to compete among the 19 countries entered. She was one of the only 48 riders to complete the competition (as were the other two women). Nearly a third of the competitors were unable to finish what was known as one of the most difficult cross-country courses in Olympic history - with four fences alone producing 38 refusals, 18 falls and 7 eliminations. The cross-country phase also included the old eventing format with steeplechase and two roads and tracks components – which was over thirty miles long.[5][2]
Post-competitive contributions[edit]
After retiring from competitive riding, Dell served as the chair of the Canadian Eventing High Performance Committee.[citation needed]
Legacy and family[edit]
Dell's contributions to Canadian equestrian have had a lasting impact. She is the mother of three children.[citation needed] Her husband, George Dell, was a successful polo player, polo game announcer,[citation needed] and played a key role in organizing the first Niagara Polo charity event in Niagara on the Lake.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Wendy Irving Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d May, Zita Barbara (1975). Canada's International Equestrians (1st ed.). Canada: Burns & MacEachern.
- ^ "Olympedia – Wendy Irving". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Wendy Dell - Olympic Profile". Olympics.
- ^ a b "Olympics - Three-Day Event Results - 1972". Olympics.
- ^ Loree, Evan (12 August 2022). "NOTL Museum excited for Niagara Polo's return". Niagara Now. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- 1951 births
- Living people
- Canadian female equestrians
- Olympic equestrians for Canada
- Equestrians at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Sportspeople from Ottawa
- Equestrians at the 1971 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games medalists in equestrian
- Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
- Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games
- 20th-century Canadian women
- 21st-century Canadian women