Gramantik's run finished

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Gramantik’s run as head coach of Athletics Canada finished

Nov 08, 2008 04:30 AM
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Randy Starkman
Sports Reporter

Les Gramantik is about to lose his job as head coach with Athletics Canada, but will retain a post within the organization.

Gramantik has been told that the organization is restructuring its program and has decided to go in a different direction after having him at the helm for two years. His contract as head coach expires in December.

An official decision is to be made at the Athletics Canada technical congress in Toronto in two weeks. With additional funding coming in based on a good performance by the track and field team in Beijing, it’s expected that some new high performance centres will be set up in which Gramantik will play a role.

The head coach’s job is to be redefined.

“We want to maximize our assets and want to make sure we’re using Les’s brilliance as a coach in the right capacity,” Athletics Canada boss Joanne Mortimore said in a statement last night.

It’s hard to know the direct impact Gramantik had as head coach. He oversaw the team at major events like the Olympics and Pan Am Games, but had little direct involvement with athletes outside of those he coached personally such as heptathlete Jessica Zelinka.

As world 800-metre silver medallist Gary Reed noted, Gramantik probably had an equal amount of supporters and detractors on the national team.

“You’d find sort of a mixed reaction,” said Reed, who finished fourth at the Beijing Olympics. “It’s a tough position, eh. When you don’t deal with someone on a day-to-day basis, it’s hard to form an opinion. I think Les came into the sport at a really tough time. But I do think change is good. I wish him well.”

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/533230

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“We want to maximize our assets and want to make sure we’re using Les’s brilliance as a coach in the right capacity.”

This quote makes about as much sense as anything I’ve seen coming out of Athletics Canada in the last 20 years. There are a number of coaches (and athletes) in Canada that have had success in the past, but it never seems that AC finds a way to maximize these assets. They tend to promote those that know who’s butt they need to stick their nose up, but bring little value to the table.

To this day, I’m still shocked at how many Canadian track coaches and bureaucrats continue to thumb their noses at Charlie’s brilliance. Regardless of what happened in the past, he still has much to offer the sporting community in Canada.

The other month I was watching “Catch Me If You Can” with Leonardo DiCaprio and thought it was great in the end when they actually asked DiCaprio’s character to help them catch criminals passing fraudulent checks. You have someone that has some brilliance in their field, and they may have broke the rules in the past. But do you let their talents go to waste, or do you see it as an opportunity to improve the situation? Easy question for me.


“Gramantik has been told that the organization is restructuring its program and has decided to go in a different direction after having him at the helm for two years.”

And, oh yes, we would like to move in the FORWARD direction.

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I absolutely agree with what you are saying, NumberTwo and that’s how it should have been for AC’s benefit.

On the other hand and not that I want to speak for Charlie, of course, just my personal opinion here, why would Charlie bother with this? To prove what and to whom?

They’ve missed their chance long ago and for the global benefit of all us here perhaps… :slight_smile:

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I certainly agree with your sentiments Nik. Thank goodness for the world wide web and Ange’s urging of Charlie to get a web-site developed.

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Sat Nov 8, 2:56 PM

What’s this
By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Les Gramantik says he’s not leaving Athletics Canada.

A Toronto newspaper reported that Gramantik, Athletics Canada’s head coach, was told the organization is restructuring its program and has decided to go in a different direction after having him at the helm for two years. His contract as head coach expires in December and the newspaper added Gramantik would retain a post within the organization.

But on Saturday, Gramantik said he isn’t leaving Athletics Canada. The national body for Canadian track and field added no formal decision on Gramantik’s future has been made and that he has not been terminated.

“I am not leaving Athletics Canada, I absolutely have not been terminated,” Gramantik said in the statement.

Athletics Canada did confirm a high performance review is being conducted.

“This review is underway to ensure we are putting the right people in the right places in order to continue our path towards achieving sustainable high performance results,” chief executive officer Joanne Mortimore said in a statement.

“Through this review, Athletics Canada wants to ensure we are maximizing Les’s strengths as a coach, but at this point no decision have been made, the decision making process is still underway with Les serving an integral role in it.”

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We shouldn’t have to settle for Les(s)…

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Maybe the first article was wishful thinking. He’s doing a good job with the Heptathlete, maybe that’s where he should concentrate.
I’m puzzled by the current role of the head coach. It seems as if it has been taken literally rather than the role of team leader. Leaving personal coaches at home and attempting to fill this role at the big meets without the foggiest idea how the athlete developed to be there in the first place is a recipe for disaster if I’ve ever heard of one.
At least Les has an athlete- what about the distance guy?

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Anyone from Athletic Canada who wants can come on here just like you can- and many do.

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I know, Charlie and for your generosity we are grateful!

PS OK, that’s it, I am not reporting anything again on AC! :stuck_out_tongue:

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Internet Column:)

From the blue Maple Leaf to the red one.

After what we would consider the best Olympics in the history of Canadian track and field, Athletics Canada did the obvious thing with their head coach Les Gramantik.

They fired him.

We’ll spend a moment on the topic, only because it will be the last time in the next four years we expend any words on an organization that would do anything this patently stupid. :o

[b]Get this - the poobahs at Athletics always had it in for Gramantik because he was accessible to the media. When something happened in the track world, you could always get a Canadian spin on it from a very credible track voice in Gramantik.

A column was always a phone call away with Gramantik. Now, whatever the pittance of press Athletics Canada gets between Olympic Games will fall off by 65 percent, after this brilliant decision by the tall foreheads in Ottawa.[/b]

Without a superstar like a Donovan Bailey or Perdita Felicien in Beijing, Canada’s track teams still racked up more Top 8 finishes than ever in Beijing. Gramantik’s own athlete, Calgary heptathlete Jessica Zelinka, finished fifth, which is unheard of in Canadian track.

And the bozos running the show fire the coach.

Nice work, folks. Real fine work.

Mark Spector is the lead columnist for sportsnet.ca

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Best results ever eh?? Better than 4 Canadians leaving with 5 Golds in Atlanta? Hmm.

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Alex Gardiner was tapped Tuesday to lead Canada’s track and field team toward the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Gardiner, a longtime track and field coach and administrator, replaces Les Gramantik, who will take on a newly created role as head coach of Canada’s High Performance Training Centre based in Calgary.

“I am excited and privileged to be able to return to Athletics Canada,” said Gardiner, who was Athletics Canada’s head coach at the 1991, 1993 and 2003 world championships, and the 2004 Summer Olympics.

“Never before in my 30-plus years in sport has there been this much opportunity and optimism fuelling our drive to the podium.”

Gardiner, who takes on his new role beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, was most recently the Canadian Olympic Committee’s senior technical director of Olympic programs.

“My time with the COC has been remarkable,” said Gardiner. “I’ve had an unparalleled chance to work with some of the greatest coaches, scientists, medical staff, leaders and national sport federations in the world. It provided me with the unique opportunity to learn every day. I’m especially fortunate to have long time colleague Les Gramantik with our team to help guide us through the next phase of our growth.”

In addition to head coach and chief technical officer duties with Athletics Canada, Gardiner, a Winnipeg native, has previously held the roles of general manager of the National Sports Centre in Winnipeg (1997-2002); Athletics Canada executive (1994-1997) and chief executive officer and director of technical programs (1992-94).

Gramantik has been Canada’s national coach since 2006. He also led the track and field team at the 1999, 2001 and 2007 world championships, the 2003 and 2007 Pan American Games, the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and this past summer at the Olympics in Beijing.

“Following the Beijing Games, the organization reviewed the previous quadrennial,” said Joanne Mortimore, Athletics Canada chief executive officer.

“The focus is to increase the current thrust of strong international results to ensure that the organization continues down the path of achieving sustainable high performance results.”