Google is honouring a Canadian track and field legend from North Vancouver on what would have been his 79th birthday.

The Google Doodle of famed sprinter Harry Jerome that appears on the Google.ca homepage today (September 30) is by Toronto artist Moya Garrison-Msingwana, which was inspired by the statue of Jerome on the seawall at Stanley Park that was unveiled in 1988. (Clicking on the Google Doodle of Jerome takes readers to search results for information about Jerome.)

Jerome was born on September 30, 1940, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, before he and his family moved to Vancouver in 1951. Unfortunately, he died at the age of 42 in 1982 from a brain aneurysm.

Jerome represented Canada in the Olympics in 1960, 1964, and 1968 and won a bronze medal in the 100-metre sprint at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He also won medals at the Universiade in 1965, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1966, and the Pan American Games in 1967, and either matched or set several national and international records.

As CBC News reports, he not only broke records but also broke through racial barriers as one of the black people at Canadian sporting events. 

He also was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1966 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, and received the Order of Canada in 1971.

Several sports-related venues in Metro Vancouver are named after him, including the Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre in North Vancouver, the Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby, in addition to the annual Harry Jerome International Track Classic.

The 2010 National Film Board of Canada documentary Mighty Jerome takes a look at his life and is available online at the NFB website.