George Washington Orton (1873-1958) was a Canadian middle-distance runner. In 1900, he became the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto, before switching to the University of Pennsylvania in 1893. By then, he was already one of the top middle-distance runners in North America. He won national titles in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, in the one-mile, two-mile and steeplechase distances. He received his Ph. D. in 1896, but remained active in his sport. The crown on Orton's career might have been the 1900 Summer Olympics, held in Paris. Later, he was a track coach at Penn, and wrote a book about the track and field history of that university. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.