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1984 Los Angeles: Linda Thom

Broadcast Date: July 30, 1984

Ottawa's Linda Thom has been dubbed the "pistol-packing mama." Thom earns this nickname following her stunning gold-medal performance in the sport pistol event at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The 41-year-old mother of two shot an astounding 297 out of 300, deftly defeating her American counterpart Ruby Fox.

Thom, who has been shooting since she was six years old, had every confidence she would win gold in her event. In this CBC Radio report, the sharpshooter and her young son Murray are interviewed one day after her perfect performance.

1984 Los Angeles: Linda Thom

• Linda Thom was born on Dec. 30, 1943 in Hamilton.
• Before the 1984 Olympics, Thom retired from the sport for seven years. During that time, Thom raised her family and studied to become a chef. For three years, she lived in France while honing her skills at the Cordon Bleu culinary academy.

• In 1982, the International Olympics Committee announced that the sport pistol event would be contested for the first time at the 1984 Summer Games. Thom suspected she could stage a comeback and returned to the sport. In Los Angeles, she competed against 30 women from 21 different countries.

• Thom's win ended a long dry spell for Canadians at the Olympics. Thom is noted in the record books for being the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal at the Summer Games since 1928 and the first Canadian to win gold at the Summer Games since 1968.
• Ethel Catherwood won gold in the high jump event in the 1928 Olympics; the Canadian equestrian team won gold in the equestrian event at the 1968 Summer Games.

• Winning the gold medal was just the first of many accolades Thom would receive. Not only was she selected to carry the Canadian flag during the Olympics' closing ceremonies, but Thom was later named female athlete of the year in 1984. In 1985, she was appointed a member of the Order of Canada and in 1992 she was inducted in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

• In 1987, Thom formally retired from the sport. She later became a founding member of the Association of Women Shooters of Canada which aims to "correct the public misperceptions about firearms and the shooting sports by indicating the involvement that women have in the recreational firearms community."

1984 Los Angeles: Linda Thom

Medium: Radio

Stock-shot

Program: Olympic Magazine

Broadcast Date: July 30, 1984

Guest(s): Linda Thom, Murray Thom

Host: Vicki Gabereau
Reporter: John Hancock

Duration: 4:23

Last updated:
July 1, 2004