THE HUNT FOR LOST OLYMPIC GOLD

In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, the Citizen is rolling out one fact each day for 150 days until July 1, highlighting the odd, the fascinating and the important bits of Ottawa history you might not know about. The hunt for the lost Olympic golfing gold medal won by Richmond native George Lyon in St. Louis in 1904 continues.

“I hope it’s just forgotten, in a jewelry box somewhere,” Michael Cochrane writes in Olympic Lyon: The Untold Story of the Last Gold Medal For Golf.

Lyon was a natural athlete, who didn’t pick up a golf club until he was 38, but went on to a stunning Olympic triumph. It was the first and only gold medal awarded for golf in Olympic history, until the sport rejoined the menu at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

When called to accept his medal and trophy, Lyon reportedly crossed the dining room by walking on his hands.

Responding to whether he thought he was the greatest golfer in the world, the modest champ apparently responded at the time: “I do not think for a moment that winning this medal and trophy means that I am the best golfer in the world. But I do know that it means I am certainly not the worst!”

After Lyon lost his gold medal, the International Olympic Committee eventually issued his family a copy, but the original has never been found.

The Olympic golf trophy presented to Lyon is displayed at the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in Oakville.