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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National champion and three-time Olympian, Ron retired from competitive swimming in 1972 to coach in Vancouver. He came to Victoria in 1984 and in 1988, helped form and was Director of Swimming at Island Swimming until 2002. He then co-founded and is Director of Swimming at Pacific Coast Swimming.

Ron is an NCCP Level 4 and NCI Master Coach. He has been recognized for coaching excellence by Swim BC, both the BC and Canadian Swim Coaches and Teachers Associations, and Swimming/Natation Canada. Ron was National Open Water Coach of the Year (2002-2005), Paralympic Coach at Athens 2004, and Canadian Open Water Head Coach at the 2005 World and 2006 Pan Pacific Championships.

Ron has received two National Domestic Excellence in Coaching awards, two Petro-Canada National Coaching Excellence awards and an International CSCTA Team award. He was BC Coach of the Year (SWAD/Para) for six consecutive years and 2002 BC Coach of the Year (16 and under). Ron has been inducted into the Canadian Swimming, Swim BC and BC Sports Halls of Fame.
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