Winnipeg, MB – Dave Lyon, track and field icon, passed away on May 9, 2013. A native of Winnipeg, Dave was an outstanding athlete at Oklahoma Baptist University where he was the two-mile champion and placed fourth at the United States National Championships in 1961.
Following a career ending injury, Lyon established himself as a builder of the sport as a coach, club executive, (founding the Razorbacks Track club in 1966), organizing chairman at local, national and international competitions including the 1967 and 1999 Pan American Games. He was also involved with the Canadian national team as a coach as well as manager and led teams to Scotland, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Korea and Cuba. Lyon was an integral member of Canadian Olympic program managing the Track and Field Team in Los Angles in 1984, Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992 and Sydney in 2000.
A high school teacher by profession, Lyon impacted countless youth in their pursuit of academic and athletic excellence. He was involved in organizing and managing the provincial high school championships for many years and viewed the school programs as vital link to encouraging athletes to further pursue their track and field careers. He also worked and volunteered in various capacities with Athletics Manitoba both on the Board of Directors as well as Director of Athletics.
Lyon was recognized as the Volunteer of the Decade for Track and Field in 1981 and was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.
Athletics Manitoba
Comments are closed.