|
Joanne McTaggart was born
in Regina in 1954. She took all of her public schooling and two years of
high school in Regina. She moved to Saskatoon, attended Walter Murray
Collegiate in Saskatoon and once won five events at the school meet. She
also started to compete on behalf of the Saskatoon Track and Field Club.
She became a regular at
the Knights of Columbus Indoor Games and by 1972, was running for
Saskatchewan against Alberta on the boards. She enjoyed good success
with the Saskatchewan women's team. Most significant was the race of her
indoor career in March, 1975, when she broke the world record for the
women's indoor 300-metres at 38.2 seconds at Edmonton.
Joanne
qualified for the Canadian team at the 1975 Pan-American Games, was part
of a third-place finish in the 400-metre relay and half an hour later,
was invited to run the 1,600-metre relay where Canada held off the
Americans and the Cubans to win the gold medal.
Joanne made the 1976 Canadian Olympic team,
travelled to Montreal, ran two heats in the 200 metres and then was part
of a Canadian team which finished fourth in the women’s 400-metre relay.
Three times, 1971, 1976 and 1981, she won
the Dairy Pool Foundation award as an outstanding woman in track and
field. She also represented Saskatchewan in the Western Canada Summer
Games and finished first in the women's 200 metres.
Among
her previous honours has been selection to the University of
Saskatchewan's Athletic Wall of Fame. |