02/15/2026
28 GOLDEN YEARS 🥇🇨🇦
On this day in 1998, became PEI’s first Olympic gold medallist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan 🇯🇵
Competing in the 2-man bobsleigh with driver Pierre Lueders, Dave captured gold in one of the most dramatic finishes in Olympic history.
He entered Nagano 1998 with renewed focus having recovered from an ankle chip fracture and torn quadriceps the previous year. After two days of competition, four heats, and 5440m of two-man sledding, brakeman MacEachern and Lueders tied for first with the Italians with an identical cumulative time of 3:37.24. It was the first time in Olympic history that two teams shared the Olympic title, in what was one of the most exciting bobsled competitions ever.
It was the first Olympic gold medal in two-man for Canada, and the very first Olympic gold of any sport for Prince Edward Island (PEI).
So dominant was MacEachern at the start, he pushed faster than every other nation’s four-man team. His success at Nagano 1998 helped raise the sport’s profile, as well as funding, in Canada. (Source: Olympics.ca)
Check out the link in our story for a blast from the past interview feature from 28 years ago on this day.
