James TRIFUNOV

Of Serbian ancestry, Jim Trifunov took up wrestling at his local YMCA in 1922. One year later he had won his first of nine almost-consecutive Canadian bantamweight championships, missing only the 1931 edition due to an injury. His successes sent him to three editions of the Olympics Games, the most notable of which was in 1928, when he captured a bronze medal by overcoming Harold Sansum of Great Britain in the match for third place. He also won a gold medal in the bantamweight division at the inaugural 1930 British Empire Games by defeating Joe Reid of England. He retired from active competition following the 1932 Olympics and resumed his career with the Regina Leader Post. In 1936 they sent him to Winnipeg to work with the city’s Free Press, where he would remain for the rest of his life. While there he took up coaching and sports administration, eventually serving as president of the Manitoba Wrestling Association for a quarter of a century. He also held executive roles in the Canadian Amateur and Manitoba Wrestling Associations and was coach and manager of Canada’s wrestling delegations to the 1952, 1956, and 1960 Summer Olympics, as well as every edition of the British Empire Games between 1954 and 1970. Among his many honors, he was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1981 and has been inducted into the Canadian Olympic (1953), Canada’s Sports (1960), the Saskatchewan Sports (1966), and the Manitoba Sports (1981) Halls of Fame.