his International Women's Day, let's celebrate some of Canada's female heroes of the past and not-so distant past. If you don't already know these athletes, you should.

Celebrate history

The Edmonton Grads

They're the most successful team in Canadian history, winning an astounding 95 per cent of their matches.

From 1915 to 1940, the Edmonton Grads won 502 games and lost only 20, beating the world's best teams from the United States and Europe.

When you have those kinds of stats, you can find yourself on a Google Doodle or in a Heritage Minute.

Though they went undefeated (27-0) through FOUR Olympic Games (1924-1936), there were no gold medals to show around their necks. Women's basketball didn't become an official Olympic sport until 1976.

As for just how good the Grads were, let's leave the final word to Dr. James Naismith, who called them "the finest basketball team that ever stepped out on a floor."

The 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, women were allowed to compete in track and field for the first time and the Canadian women headed straight to the podium.

You probably don't know these names, but you should.

Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld was the premiere sprinter of the Games. She ran the anchor leg for Jane Bell, Ethel Smith and Myrtle Cook as Canada won gold in the inaugural 4x100-metre relay.

And that wasn't the end of it. Canadian teammate Ethel Catherwood won gold in high jump.

In total, Canada's women's track and field team won two gold, two silver and a bronze and earned the nickname: The Matchless Six.

Their homecoming to Toronto was nuts. Hundreds of thousands came out to celebrate … and in 1950, Rosenfeld was named Canada's female athlete of the first half of the century.

Nancy Greene Raine

The former Canadian senator is better known as the best alpine skier of her day. 

Nicknamed Tiger (well before the golfer!), if Nancy Greene pounced, there wasn't much her competition could do about it.  

Whether it was her dominant gold medal victory in the giant slalom at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics (she won by a whopping 2.68 seconds!) or back-to-back World Cup overall titles, Greene Raine ruled the slopes and inspired the next generation of ski racers, male and female. 

resource: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/iwd/butler-iwd-female-athletes-you-should-know-mar-7-1.5490141