Mark Anthony Graham (May 17, 1973, in Gordon Town, Jamaica – September 4, 2006, in Panjwaii, Kandahar, Afghanistan) was a Canadian Olympic athlete and soldier who died while participating in Operation Medusa during the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Biography
editGraham was born on May 17, 1973, in Gordon Town, Jamaica and 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 Medal and is buried at the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 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. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ "Friendly fire that killed Canadian was 'freak accident': major". CBC.ca. September 4, 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
External links
edit- Mark Graham at World Athletics
- Mark Graham at Team Canada
- Mark Graham at Olympics.com
- Mark Graham at Olympedia
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