Posted: May 27, 2005

Athletics: Alex Gardiner To Join Canadian Olympic Committee

(Friday, May 27, 2005) – Athletics Canada’s Chief Technical Officer and Head Coach, Alex Gardiner is heading to the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to take on a major leadership role in its high performance sport unit.

Beginning September 1st, Gardiner will be the COC’s Director, International Performance. As such, he will provide direct assistance and technical support to National Sport Federations, assist in the professionalization of coaching in Canada, provide technical analysis of Canadian performance preparation and be responsible for researching other countries’ technical planning and innovation for Olympic Games. In addition, he will work with COC staff in assisting the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games with its plans for the development of legacies for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

“This is a huge opportunity for me to assist with the ongoing development of high performance sport in Canada during a very exciting time for Canadian sport,” says Gardiner. “I will, of course, continue to work closely with Athletics Canada, the major sport in the Olympic program.”

“Alex’s leadership and dedication have had a major impact on Athletics Canada over the last three years,” say Athletics Canada Chair Jean-Guy Ouellette. “He has been instrumental in the re-vitalization of our programs in what has been a new, progressive era for Canadian athletics. His knowledge, his collaborative style and his credibility will serve him well in this new important role.”

During Gardiner’s recent tenure with Athletics Canada, his major accomplishments included the establishment of professional event group leaders within the national team, an increase in funding and focus on top-performing athletes and coaches, as well as the strengthening of ties with key sport partners such as the Canadian sport centre network, the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

From a performance side, Gardiner was the head coach of the 2003 IAAF World Championship Canadian team which brought home one gold (Perdita Felicien 100m hurdles) and one bronze medal (Mark Boswell high jump) from Paris. As head coach of the 2004 Olympic Games track and field team, Gardiner was particularly proud of the fact that the Canadian team showed its best Olympic results since 1992 in terms of the number of athletes finishing in the top six, the top 12 and the top16. “This shows great progression and potential for a team that is aiming to peak in Beijing in 2008,” adds Gardiner.

“We’re very proud that a track and field personality has been given the opportunity to contribute to the overall advancement of Olympic sport,” says Joanne Mortimore, Chief Operating Officer of Athletics Canada. “We know that this new role will provide Alex with some new and exciting challenges which will be extremely valuable both to him and to our sport in the long run.”

Gardiner was the chief executive officer of Athletics Canada from1994 to 1997 and was the association’s director of technical programs between 1992 and 1994. From 1997 to 2002, he served as the general manager of the National Sport Centre – Manitoba. His coaching career spans over 30 years and includes many honours including six Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national championships, CIS coach of the year and Manitoba professional coach of the year.

Gardiner will continue to be based in Winnipeg and will report to the COC’s Executive Director of Sport, Mark Lowry in his new role. An interim technical leadership structure is currently being developed by Athletics Canada and will be announced in the near future.

Athletics Canada is the national sport governing body for the sport of track and field including cross-country running and road running. Its purpose is to support high performance athletics excellence at the world level and to provide leadership in developmental athletics. Athletics Canada is a not for profit, charitable organization operating under a board of directors elected by provincial / territorial members.