Taras Hryb (2002)

Taras Hryb began wrestling with the Victoria Y Club at age 14 under the expert guidance of local wrestling guru Ed Ashmore. The powerful young man from Oak Bay Junior High School rose from the YMCA mats to win bronze medals at both the 1971 Pan-American Games in Cali, Colombia and 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand. He ended a long national drought and dramatically kick started a revival in Canadian amateur wrestling in 1969 when he won bronze in the 180-pound freestyle class at the world junior championships in Boulder, Colorado. That was Canada s first international wrestling medal since the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. Taras made it to the 1972 Munich Olympics as a mere 18 year-old but chronic knee injuries eventually ended his career. Taras' accomplishments included winning the Canadian university title four times and competing in the world championships and World University Games. Taras was named Victoria male athlete of the year for 1969 and was inducted into the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1988.