Romel Raffin

Romel Raffin (born April 23, 1954) is a former Canadian basketball player and four-time Olympian. He is the only four-time Olympian in Canadian basketball history.

High school Raffin played at the high school level for Eastwood Collegiate Institute. For the 1979-80 season, Raffin played for the University of Calgary, where he was named a first-team Canada West conference all-star.

International Raffin played for the Canada men's national basketball team beginning in 1974 and ending in 1988. This included being on four different teams which qualified for the Olympics (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988). Raffin was named Canada's team captain in these Olympics. Raffin had a notable performance against Spain, where he led all players in rebounds (8) and led Canada in assists (4). Canada finished 6th overall in these Olympics.

1984 Olympics Raffin represented Canada in the 1984 Olympics. Canada performed well in the tournament, finishing fourth overall after narrowly losing the bronze medal game. This 1984 bronze-medal game constituted the only time in the past 80+ years where Canada had a legitimate chance of winning an Olympic medal in basketball. In the semifinal match of this tournament, Canada defeated a talented US team led by future NBA hall of famers Charles Barkley and Karl Malone. This 1983 gold medal win constituted one of the finest moments in Canadian basketball history, being the only time in which Canada has won the gold medal in an international basketball tournament.

1980 Olympics Raffin was named to the national team that qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

This 1980 Canadian men's team was positioned to perform well in these Olympics given that Canada competed for the bronze medal in the Olympic games preceding and following these 1980 Olympics (1976, 1984) and this time in Canadian basketball has been described as "arguably the Canadian national team's greatest era" and "Canada's golden age of basketball".

1976 Olympics Raffin represented Canada in the 1976 Olympics. and against the Soviet Union, where he scored 8 points in only 17 minutes of play.

Other international tournaments Raffin represented Canada in additional international tournaments, including many Pan American Games, the 1974 FIBA World Championship, the 1980 American Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men, the 1984 American Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men and 1988 American Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men.

Professional / semi-professional career Raffin played multiple seasons professionally in Italy and Venezuela. the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame (2008); and Eastwood Collegiate Institute's Wall of Recognition. The 1976 Canadian Olympic team, of which Raffin was part, was also inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame (2007).

Personal life Raffin was born on April 23, 1954. He has been a high school teacher, a high school basketball coach and a high school athletic director. His brother, Angelo Raffin, played for the Canadian Football League.