A Delta resident and one of the co-founders of the Vancouver Marathon and Vancouver Sun Run and co-founder of SportMedBC, has died.
Dr. Jack Taunton’s death Wednesday was noted on social media.
Taunton, 76, was recently appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in June, and was described by the Governor General’s office as “an early leader in sport and exercise medicine,” noting that he was professor emeritus at UBC, an active fundraiser and helped found SportMedBC and the Canadian Health and Fitness Institute.
Douglas Clement, along with Don McKenzie, and Taunton, were all part of bringing sport medicine to UBC. Clement and Taunton were friends for more than 50 years.
“Jack was a relentless, selfless person who trained many people at UBC,” Clement said Thursday.
The efforts helped spread sport medicine into the mainstream of medical practice and establish the value of regular exercise.
“It’s through his energy and effort and leadership that so many people have been trained and stimulated, and inspired by his work,” said Clement, who also helped co-found the Sun Run.
“He was one in a million in terms of his ability to retain and champion a positive outlook on all aspects of life,” he said.
“And he was a natural-born leader, in the sense that he had a curious, exploratory approach to life and he formed groups and teams around him that worked together to get to those goals," Clement said.
“He wants to help people. That’s what he did all his life."
Roger Robinson said the same thing on Facebook. “Dr. Jack was unhesitatingly generous in sharing his expert medical advice through every injury …”
“He suffered many health problems in later years but was an inspiration in his courageous insistence on rigorous exercise. He will be missed.”
Another comment on Facebook called Taunton an, “icon of the running and sports medicine family …”
“Humanity needs more Jack Taunton for sure.”
Another runner added, “I can’t imagine a finish line without Jack standing there.”
Taunton also served as the medical officer for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984, in Seoul 1988, and in Barcelona in 1992, according to UBC’s School of Kinesiology.
He was also chief medical officer at the Sydney Olympics in 2000; and at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics.
He served as team physician for the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Canadian men’s and women’s national field hockey teams.
He was also honoured locally last year by KinVillage as one of its Seven over 70 award winners.
The Optimist has reached out to the family seeking details on any memorial services.
