James Trifunov (July 18, 1903 – June 27, 1993) was a Canadian freestyle

sport wrestler Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics, in the 1928 Summer Olympics, and in the 1932 Summer Olympics. His parents Mr. and Mrs. Rade Trifunov came from Jarkovac,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in March 1902 and settled in

Truax, Saskatchewan Truax is an unincorporated community in the Rural Municipality of Elmsthorpe No. 100, Saskatchewan, Canada. It held village status prior to December 30, 1970. Truax is located southwest of Regina and approximately southeast of Moose Jaw. H ...

, where James was born the following year.

Biography

Of Serbian descent, Jim Trifunov began his career as a newsboy in Regina, later he took up wrestling at his local

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

in 1922. One year later he had won his first of nine almost-consecutive Canadian

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

championships, missing only the 1931 edition due to an injury. His successes sent him to three editions of the Olympic Games, the most notable of which was in 1928, when he captured a bronze medal by overcoming Harold Sansum of

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in the match for the bronze medal. He also won a gold medal in the bantamweight division at the inaugural

1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what now is known as the Commonwealth Games, and were held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930. The games were organized by ''Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...

by defeating Joseph Reid of

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. He retired from active competition following the 1932 Olympic Games and resumed his career with Regina's

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. In 1936 he was sent by the Sifton Publishing Company from Regina to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

to work with the city's

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

, 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 Wrestling Association and Manitoba Wrestling associations and was coach and manager of Canada's wrestling delegations to

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

, and

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

, 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 The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 1981 and has been inducted into the Canadian Olympic in 1953, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1960, and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. Also, he was inducted into the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

in 1981. His voluntary activities and initiatives have included school-crossing patrols, which have spread across the continent.

Certificates and awards

* The Amateur Athletic Union of Canada certificate to Jim Trifunov for his work with the youth of Canada and his fellow sportsmen (Archives Canada). * British Columbia 1958 Centennial award to Jim Trifunov for the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Championships (Archives Canada). * An Award presented to Jim Trifunov by the Manitoba Sports Federation for a builder of sport (Archives Canada). * Card that reads Canadian Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame James "Jim" Trifunov Admitted March 16, 1975 (Archives Canada). * Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association James Trifunov Air Canada Sports Award for Executive of the Year (Archives Canada).

References

External links

* http://www.sportshall.ca/stories.html?proID=451&catID=all {{DEFAULTSORT:Trifunov, James 1903 births 1993 deaths People from Sečanj People from the Kingdom of Hungary Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Serbian descent Olympic wrestlers of Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Canadian male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 1930 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Winnipeg Members of the Order of Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in wrestling