Doug Anakin, famed Canadian bobsledder, dies at 89

Sam Jarden

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Doug Anakin, famed Canadian bobsledder, dies at 89 image

Former Canadian Olympian Doug Anakin has passed away at the age of 89, his family has announced. 

Anakin was a part of the four-man Canadian bobsled team at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics that won Canada's first-ever gold medal in the sport. The inexperienced team upset favorites Austria and Italy with a time of 4:14:46, beating out Austria by just over a second. At the time, it was considered the greatest upset in the history of the sport. It was also Canada's lone gold medal that year. 

Anakin and his three teammates, brothers John and Vic Emery and Peter Kirby, were inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame shortly after their victory. Their gold medal was the first of five for Canada in the history of Olympic bobsled, with the most recent coming when Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz took gold in the two-man event at the 2018 Pyeongchang games. 

A native of Chatham, Ontario, Anakin was also well-known for his contributions to the advancement of luge as a sport in Canada. He was originally entered in the luge competition at the 1964 games, but he pulled out to focus on the bobsled competition. He continued to represent his country in luge competitions for several years after his triumph in Innsbruck, and even coached the Canadian team at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics. 

According to an obituary published in the Montreal Gazette, Anakin died on April 25. No cause of death was given.

Tributes on social media came pouring in shortly after the news was announced.

Sam Jarden

Sam Jarden Photo

Sam Jarden joined Sporting News as an intern in 2020 and returned as a content producer in 2022. In between, he spent a year and a half at Turner Sports, managing the social media accounts for Bleacher Report, NBA on TNT, NBA TV and others. A proud UNC alumnus, he spends his free time following the Tar Heels, Buffalo Bills and Newcastle United FC, and has been known to occasionally hit the links.