Elite Athlete

Betty Craig - 2025 Hall of Fame Inductee

Betty Craig
Induction Year: 2025 
Category: Elite Athlete

A native of Brockville, Ont., Betty Craig competed in several sports in her youth including skiing and basketball but found her most success on the water. She got her start in rowing as a teenager at the Brockville Rowing Club in 1973 shortly after the women’s rowing program was first introduced at the Eastern Ontario club. Just a few short years later she competed with Brockville Collegiate Institute at the 1975 CSSRA Championships, the first year to feature women’s rowing, where she helped the women’s four earn gold. This was the first of many trailblazing feats for Craig, who would go on to a national team career that spanned 12 years and three Olympic Games.

With just a few years of rowing experience under her belt, Craig quickly ascended to the highest levels of the sport. In 1976 she earned a spot on the National Team and competed at her first Olympics in Montreal. The 1976 Olympics was the first to feature women’s rowing and Craig was one of 24 groundbreaking Canadian women who competed on the first ever Canadian women’s rowing team at an Olympics. Racing just a few hours away from her hometown, she placed fifth in the coxless pair with partner Tricia Smith.

Craig continued her impressive international career the following year by winning her first World Championship medal, a bronze with new pair’s partner Susan Antoft. The duo also claimed a silver medal the following year at the 1978 World Championships. Craig qualified for a spot on the 1980 Olympic Team but due to Canada’s Olympic boycott was unable to compete. Undeterred, she reunited with Smith in 1981 and began a four-year run that would see the duo achieve unprecedented success.

The pair captured medals at three consecutive World Championships in the lead up to the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The highlight of Craig’s career would come in LA when her and Smith won the silver medal behind the pair from Romania. Following the 1984 Olympics, she retired for two years but made a comeback with Smith in 1987 to win the Canadian Championships and compete in one final World Championship race. Craig retired for good following the 1987 season with five World Championship medals (2 silver, 3 bronze), two trips to the Olympics and one Olympic silver medal.

Craig has been recognized for her outstanding career by being inducted into the Brockville and District Sports Hall of Fame (1995) and the Canadian Rowing Hall of Fame (2018, 2019).

Career Highlights

  • A women’s rowing trailblazer, Betty competed at the 1976 Olympics which was the first to feature women’s rowing
  • Two-time Olympian: 1984 Los Angeles Olympics – Silver Medal – Women’s Pair, 1976 Montreal Olympics – 5th place – Women’s Pair, Qualified for 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to boycott
  • 12-year national team career: Earned 5 World Rowing Championship medals (2 silver, 3 bronze), including medals in three straight years (1981-83) with pairs partner Tricia Smith. Retired following 1984 Olympics, but made a comeback in 1987 with Smith to win the Canadian Championships and compete in one final World Rowing Championship
  • Got her start in rowing at the Brockville Rowing Club in 1973. Won a CSSRA gold medal in 1975 in the women’s four, the first CSSRA Championship to feature women’s rowing
  • Previously recognized with inductions into the Brockville and District Sports Hall of Fame (1995) and the Canadian Rowing Hall of Fame (2018, 2019)