Greg Joy

{{short description|American-born Canadian high jumper|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| full_name = Gregory Andrew Joy

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|4|23}}

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{CAN}}}}

}}

Gregory Andrew Joy (born April 23, 1956) is an American-born Canadian high jumper who stood 6' 4" tall and weighed 157 lbs while competing from 1973 to 1982 for Canada.

Biography

Born in the U.S. to Canadian parents, Joy lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, from age 9 to 17.

Competing for the UTEP Miners track and field team, Joy won the 1975 and 1977 high jump at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, with a best mark of 2.22 m at the 1977 edition.{{cite web |title=Greg Joy |url=https://olympic.ca/team-canada/greg-joy/ |website=Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website |access-date=19 June 2024 |date=18 September 2011}}{{cite web |title=UTEP Set to Induct 12th Athletic Hall of Fame Class |url=https://utepminers.com/news/2013/10/10/UTEP_Set_to_Induct_12th_Athletic_Hall_of_Fame_Class |website=UTEP Miners |access-date=19 June 2024 |language=en}}

He won the silver medal in the high jump at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, being the highest medal earned by Canada, which became the first host country in summer Olympics history not to produce at least one gold medal winner and later was selected to carry Canada's flag at the closing ceremonies.{{cite news|title='76 Olympian Greg Joy happy to see 'complete set' for Canadian high jumpers|url=https://vancouversun.com/sports/2012-summer-games/Greg+happy+complete+Canadian+high+jumpers/7054989/story.html|access-date=August 11, 2012|newspaper=Vancouver Sun|date=August 8, 2012|author=Gary Kingston|archive-date=September 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921045835/http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2012-summer-games/Greg+happy+complete+Canadian+high+jumpers/7054989/story.html|url-status=dead}}

For his achievement, Joy was voted the winner of the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada's top male athlete of 1976{{cite news |last=Sufrin |first=Mel |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Oe4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7u0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2360%2C104678 |title=Jumper who gave Canada Olympic joy is best in 1976 |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=1976-12-22 |access-date=2012-08-13 |page=17}} and the Norton Crowe Award as Canada's top male amateur athlete of the year.{{cite web|url=http://www.slam.ca/CanadianSportAwards98/norton.html |title=26TH ANNUAL CANADIAN SPORT AWARDS |work=SLAM! SPORTS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919213430/http://www.slam.ca/CanadianSportAwards98/norton.html |archive-date=19 September 2016 |url-status=dead }}

Joy's final successful jump from those games would be part of CBC's nightly sign-off montage for decades.{{cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/greg-joy-recalls-moment-in-the-sun/article4468590/|title=Greg Joy recalls moment in the sun|last=Ebner|first=David|date=7 August 2012|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=8 August 2012}}

He would later marry Sue Holloway, who won two canoe sprint medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and also competed in the 1976 Winter Olympics in cross-country skiing.

In 1995, he ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Ottawa West, in the 1995 provincial election, finishing second to Bob Chiarelli by 1,618 votes.

As of 2016, he was an adjudicator for the landlord and tenant board in Ottawa.

References

Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Men): High Jump". In The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 203.