Name Joe Keeper Children Joseph I. Keeper Spouse Christina McLeod | Died September 29, 1971 Role Olympic athlete | |
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Grandchildren Tina Keeper, Barry Keeper, Lorne Keeper, Joy Keeper People also search for Tina Keeper, Christina McLeod, Joseph I. Keeper, Barry Keeper, Joy Keeper, Lorne Keeper, Phyllis Keeper | ||
Joseph Benjamin Keeper (January 17, 1886 - September 29, 1971) was a Canadian long distance runner, and a member of the 1912 Canadian Olympic team.
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Early and personal life
Keeper, a member of the Norway House Cree Nation, was born at Walker Lake, Manitoba. He was sent to Brandon for schooling at the Brandon Indian Residential School, and it was while there, at high school, that he showed an enthusiasm for long distance running.
In 1916, Keeper joined the Army, and served for two years in France. He received a Military Medal for his actions at the Cambria during WWI. In 1917, Keeper joined with Tom Longboat to win an inter-Allied cross country championship near Vimy Ridge. Longboat, Keeper, and other First Nation long-distance runners A. Jamieson and John Nackaway served as dispatch carriers for the 107th Pioneer Battalion. Keeper received three medals for his service for his duty, which made him the most decorated Canadian Indian.
Following the war, he returned to Winnipeg, where he worked as a carpenter, before moving back to the northern part of the province, where he worked for the Hudson's Bay Company until he retired in 1951. He and his wife Christina McLeod had seven children four sons and three daughters. His granddaughter is actress and Canadian politician Tina Keeper.
Career
In 1910, Keeper moved to Winnipeg, where he joined the North End Amateur Athletic Club. The following year he set a Canadian record for the ten mile run.
In 1912, he was selected to the Canadian Olympic team, and participated at the 1912 Summer Olympics at Stockholm, Sweden. He raced in the 5000 metre run and in the 10,000 metre run, where he finished fourth in the 10,000 and ninth in the 5,000, the best result ever for a Canadian runner in those events.
Keeper was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of fame, Canada's sports hall of fame and also the Manitoba sports hall of fame.
Legacy
The Joe Keeper Memorial Run (now the Joe Keeper - Angela Chalmers celebration run) is held each spring by the Manitoba Runners’ Association. The Norway House Cree Nation holds memorial races in Keeper's name.
Keeper was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of fame, Canada's sports hall of fame and also the Manitoba sports hall of fame. Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1984.