Jocelyn Lovell

Lovell at his home in Mississauga, Ontario in September 2015
Personal information
Born	(1950-07-19)July 19, 1950 Norwich, Norfolk, England
Died	June 3, 2016(2016-06-03) (aged 65) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight	71 kg (157 lb)[1]
Team information
Discipline	Road and Track cycling
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Amateur team
1968–1983	Team Canada
Major wins
Silver Medalist, 1978 World Cycling Championships, Gold Medals, 1978 Commonwealth Games, Gold Medal, 1975 Pan American Games, Gold Medal, 1971 Pan American Games

Jocelyn Lovell display at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

Jocelyn Charles Bjorn Lovell (July 19, 1950 – June 3, 2016) was a Canadian cyclist. He won dozens of Canadian national titles for track and road cycling in the 1970s and early 1980s, as well as gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games. He competed at three Olympic Games.^[1] His victories, at international competitions, renewed global interest in Canadian cycling.^[2]

At the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, he won three gold medals in Games record times. Later that year he won a silver medal at the world championships.^[3]

He continued to race as an amateur into the early 1980s.

On August 4, 1983, he was hit by a dump truck while training in Halton Region, just northwest of Toronto.^[4] The driver drove into him from behind, breaking Lovell's neck and pelvis.^[5] From that moment on, he permanently became quadriplegic.^[6] No charges were laid.^[6] In 1985, he was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.^[7]

Personal life

Lovell was born in Norwich, England in 1950. He moved with his family to Canada in 1954. He started cycle racing when he was 13.^[5]

Lovell was married to speed skater and competitive cyclist Sylvia Burka in 1981.^[5] They separated in 1986.^[8] He lived in Mississauga, Ontario with his second wife, Neil.^[6] He died in Toronto on Friday, June 3, 2016.^[4]

Citations

References

• "HONOURED MEMBER: JOCELYN LOVELL". 2016. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
• Gains, Paul (June 4, 2016). "Jocelyn Lovell, Canada's first cycling icon". Canadian Cycling Magazine.
• Hawthorn, Tom (June 17, 2016). "Canadian cyclist Jocelyn Lovell became fierce advocate for spinal-cord research". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.

• Klane, Lynn (October 24, 2002). "Jocelyn Lovell: Rebel biker". CBC Archives. Toronto. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
• Ormsby, Mary (August 24, 2007). "Wheels are still turning for Lovell". Toronto Star. pp. S4. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
• Parrish, Wayne (August 7, 1983). "Intensity: A Lovell Trademark". The Sunday Star. Toronto. p. E1.
• Sokol, Al (August 6, 1983). "Hit by a truck premier cyclist fighting for his life". The Saturday Star. Toronto. pp. D1, D3.
• Smith, Kenneth V. (July 23, 2012). "Cycling". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jocelyn Lovell". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2014.

External links

• Jocelyn Lovell at Olympics.com
• "Still flying high on a wing and a prayer" (PDF). Blue Banner. Vol. 5. St. Michael's College School. Fall 2008. pp. 28–29. Retrieved April 1, 2021.