Before dedicating himself to work as a sculptor, Canadian born McKenzie was a medical doctor and taught physical education at the University of Pennsylvania for more than two decades. His interest in anatomy and athletics led him to model figures in bronze demonstrating the canon of perfect proportion in the human form. In this work, a solitary figure crouches on one leg while tying his laces before a race. A cast of The Competitor was first exhibited at the Winter Exhibition of the National Academy of Design in New York in 1906. Other castings of this work exist in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
