Wynn Gmitroski was born in Selkirk, Manitoba and grew up near the village of Tyndall. He attended Edward Schreyer School (ESS) in Beausejour and Bemidji State University (BSU) in northern Minnesota, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Physical Education and Health. Wynn began his coaching career in 1979 at ESS, teaching Physical Education for 2 years. He decided to further his education in human performance by first obtaining a Master of Science from the University of Oregon (1982), then graduating in 1988 from the University of Manitoba as a registered physiotherapist.

Wynn was naturally active throughout his youth; it was the way he preferred to play. There was an inner drive that propelled him towards and through his coaching career. He enjoyed planning exercise sessions and then performing them from elementary school onwards. He participated in multiple sports through junior high, experiencing improvement connected to the work that he put in and feeding his motivation. In high school, track coach Bob Grant became very influential by providing opportunities that were more inviting than other sports. Wynn enjoyed the independence that an individual sport provided, rather than relying on others.

In 1990, Wynn moved to Victoria and began his collaboration with University of Victoria Coach Brent Fougner, focusing on middle distance and distance runners. They worked together through the majority of their high performance careers balancing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. In addition, he continued to receive considerable support from Alex Gardiner, an experienced coach from Manitoba who wore many different hats over the years with Athletics Canada. For Wynn, they were the right connections, providing support and encouragement to continue his path internationally.

Wynn has spent his life pursuing optimal performance and wellness and, over the past 40 years, this commitment has taken him to six Olympic Games, 17 World Championships, five Commonwealth Games and many other international competitions including the World Indoor Championships and the Jeux de la francophonie. He was the lead coach for the National Athletics Centre for middle distance running and was also a master course conductor at the National Coaching Institute. Wynn’s coaching achievements have been recognized with many awards including the 2007 Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award.

Wynn was the personal coach of Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalist Angela Chalmers, GVSHOF 2017 inductee Dianne Cummins, and World Championships medalist Gary Reed. The mix of Canadian athletes Wynn has personally coached still hold several national records, achieving an Olympic Bronze medal, a World Championship Silver medal, three Commonwealth Gold and aSilver medal, Pan American Gold and Silver medals along with a combination of 19 top-10 world rankings or finishes at major championships.

By integrating years of study, physical therapy practice and international coaching experience, Wynn Gmitroski has developed highly-regarded expertise for optimizing performance-enhancing functional movement, along with methods to prevent and recover from stress. He continues to be passionate about individualizing his approach to develop therapeutic programs for his current clients of all ages and abilities.

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In Canada, Yeiji Inouye was “Mr. Judo.” As an athlete, Yeiji was only the second Canadian to achieve 9th Dan Black Belt. He has coached the Canadian team at World Championships. In 1974, he achieved his International Judo Association “A” Referee certification and has refereed at World Championships and the Olympic Games. But it is his contributions as a builder to his sport that are most remarkable.
Yeiji started judo in 1938 at age 13 in Haney and continued to progress in the sport throughout his 25-year career in the Canadian Navy, which afforded him several opportunities to train in Japan. By 1954, he was training service personnel in Esquimalt and, in 1957, founded the Victoria Judo Club. Between 1958 and 1962, he co-founded the University of Victoria Judo Club, and the Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo and Comox clubs.

He served his sport as President of Judo BC, Chair of the Judo BC Grading Board and Referees Committee as well as National Councillor to Judo Canada, Chair of both the National Grading Board and National Referee Committee for multiple terms from 1968 through 2006. In 1972, he created the new Canadian Black Belt grading syllabus. He has acted as Tournament Director, Chief Referee and Evaluator at various national and provincial championships and arranged international clinics in Canada. Throughout this time, he gave clinics around BC and was chief instructor at the Victoria Judo Club for 41 years, producing athletes who have competed nationally and internationally.

Yeiji has been recognized many times for his contribution to Judo, including Life Membership and induction into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame in 2001. Sadly, Yeiji “Lanky” Inouye passed away in June 2018, but his achievements will live forever.

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