Mark Anthony Graham
Mark Anthony Graham (May 17, 1973 in Gordon Town, Jamaica – September 4, 2006 in Panjwaii, Afghanistan) was a Canadian Olympic athlete and soldier who died while participating in Operation Medusa during the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Biography[]
Graham grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, lived in Calgary, Alberta and had been stationed at CFB Petawawa in Ontario. He attended Chedoke Middle School and then Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School in Hamilton, then the University of Nebraska and later Kent State in Ohio on track-and-field scholarships.[1]
Graham competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona as a member of the 4x400m relay. They finished fifth in their heat with a time of 3:04.69 and did not advance to the finals. He also represented Canada at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia.
Graham served in the 1st Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.[2]
On September 4, 2006 Graham was killed in a friendly fire incident when two USAF A-10 Thunderbolts fired on his platoon, having mistaken them for Taliban insurgents.[3] He was awarded the Sacrifice Medaland is buried at the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.[2]
See also[]
- Canadian records in track and field
References[]
- ^ Alex Dobrota & Omal el Akkad, Friendly fire claims former Olympic athlete, The Globe and Mail. September 5, 2006
- ^ a b "Mark Graham". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ "Friendly fire that killed Canadian was 'freak accident': major". CBC.ca. September 4, 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
External links[]
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- 1973 births
- 2006 deaths
- Black Canadian track and field athletes
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
- Canadian military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Canadian male sprinters
- Military personnel killed by friendly fire
- Olympic track and field athletes of Canada
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada
- Athletes from Hamilton, Ontario
- Jamaican emigrants to Canada
- Deaths by American airstrikes
- People from Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica
- The Royal Canadian Regiment officers
- Canadian Army officers
- Canadian track and field athletics biography stubs
- Canadian military personnel stubs