One of the founding fathers of sport medicine in Canada, Dr. Jack Taunton, has received another great honour, this time from the Canadian Academy of Sport & Exercise Medicine.
Dr. Taunton was presented with the Medal of Service award during CASEM’s Annual General Meeting this month in Halifax, NS.
This new award recognizes individuals who have made an exceptional and outstanding contribution to the advancement of sport and exercise medicine in Canada. The award is granted in recognition of:
• Service to their profession in the field of event planning, event and/or team coverage
• Service to Canadians by helping to raise the standards of sport and exercise medicine in Canada
• Personal contribution to the advancement of the art and science of sport and exercise medicine.
Dr. Taunton’s list of accomplishments is extensive to say the least.
In addition to co-founding SportMedBC (serving as Chairman from 1982-1988 and 1993-1995) and the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Taunton worked with Vancouver’s Dr. Doug Clement to launch the Vancouver Marathon (1972) and Vancouver Sun Run (1985).
Serving as Chief Medical Officer for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, under his leadership the event was honoured by the International Olympic Committee as having the best sport medicine platform in Olympic Games history.
Dr. Taunton has also consulted for numerous international sporting events and organizations and served as team doctor for the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA.
In 2014, Dr. Taunton was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in the Builder category.
SportMedBC would like to congratulate Dr. Taunton on this latest honour. He is truly one of the giants in Sport Medicine in the province of BC and his contributions to our organization (and others) is felt to this day with the Vancouver Sun Run InTraining Clinics and the event medical services that SportMedBC continues to provide.
You can find the letter of nomination that was read at the presentation earlier this month here.
