The Honourable Hugh Fraser, Artsci'74 a Queen's alumnus and former track & field star was on hand at the Athletics and Recreation Centre last week to talk with Queen's varsity athletes about his time at Queen's and his journey from competing in the Olympics to becoming regional senior judge for the Ontario Court of Justice.
With his father being a mature student at Queen's after emigrating from Jamaica, Fraser was exposed to all things Queen's at a young age. He recalls vivid memories of following the Queen's bands along the streets in town on their way to the football games and trying to find his way into the games even if it meant scaling the walls.
Growing up he turned his talents to track in high school with so much success that he had many scholarship opportunities from American schools. After an injury in his senior year however Fraser saw many of his offers disappear and he was left feeling like his days of running competitively may have been over.
"If you get some setbacks early in life it's not always a bad thing," said Fraser on his injury. "You get to learn from those experiences and it can bring you back to reality and frankly humbles you a bit too. I was at a stage when I suffered my first major injury that I probably needed to be humbled. You think you have the world by the tail and that you can control your fate when you're not as in control as you think you are. You then can either quit or get stronger and come back."
With a revamped outlook on his track future, Fraser started out with a year at McMaster before eventually landing at Queen's. It was here where he found his place once more on the track and found a role model in Queen's legend Rolf Lund who was then the coach of the team. Lund became like a second father to Fraser who cites his guidance not only in the sport but with making an impact on his personal life as well.
Fraser always embraced the role of being a student-athlete and how the roles of a student and an athlete can build the foundation for the future.
"I learned about the importance of balance. As a student you want to be able to study hard and work hard but it's always nice to have that other outlet and I think that really helped me keep perspective. The academic discipline and the athletic discipline went hand in hand. Without one I don't know if I'd have the other but when you get overwhelmed with all the assignments and other things you need to do sometimes you go for a good workout or something and things don't seem to be quite as discouraging as they used to. It really helped me keep that balance with the sheer benefit of exercise."
After winning gold as a Gael and setting OUAA track records in the early seventies Fraser continued to excel finding his way to the national team and into the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. There he was the anchor of the 4x100m relay where the Canadian team finished eighth while also taking part in the 200m.
From there Fraser completed his law degree at Queen's and has served on the Ontario Court of Justice, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and the Dublin Commission of Inquiry. In 1994 he was inducted into the Queen's track and field hall of fame.
After being involved in a sport that saw a turn for the worse in terms of doping from both an athlete perspective and as a part of the Dublin Commission he left the students with the message to always compete to their true potential.
"Don't take any shortcuts. Do anything you can to discover your own true potential. You'll always be satisfied if you have legitimately done your best to reach that potential. I think nobody fails and my view was that but taking shortcuts always leaves you wondering what you might have accomplished had you stayed on that path."
