Thomas Charles Longboat was a Onondaga first nation long distance runner from Six Nations Reserve close to Brantford, Ontario. Throughout most of his career he dominated the sport of long distance running. He lived from 1887 to 1949. During World War 1 he was a soilder in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and therefore got the nickname the "Bulldog of Britannia".

Longboat met a lot of adversity through his career. His coach did not approve of his training regimes and the media called him lazy. All this was because Longboat believed it recovery was an important part of good training. This is actually the norm in the present. Longboat was right and all athletes now take recovery after training very seriously.

In 1907 Longboat ran the Boston Marathon 4 minutes and 59 seconds faster than anyone before. Just two years after his victory in Boston he won the title: Professional Champion of the world, by defeating Dorando Pietri and Alfred Shrubb.

His legacy has continued inspiring both indigenous and non-indigenous athletes all over the world. Longboat set a remarkable mark on the world of sports.