Ken Trofimuk. (submitted photo/Chad Benko)

By Nigel Maxwell

Local mentors

Well respected coach receives provincial award

Mar 4, 2020 | 2:11 PM

Over the course of nearly five decades, Prince Albert’s Ken Trofimuk trained thousands of young weight lifters and set of many of his own personal records. The 62-year-old was recently named Sask. Sport’s Volunteer of the Year.

Close to 40 sports fly under the provincial organization’s umbrella, and each year they all get a chance to nominate a candidate. Trofimuk, who was told about the award this week, said the recognition from his peers means a lot.

“It was really kind of humbling to be acknowledged in Saskatchewan because we have so many amazing athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers,” he said.

Ken Trofimuk is no stranger to winning awards. (submitted photo/Chad Benko)

During his childhood, Trofimuk and his brother participated in as many school sports as they could, but as a teenager, at 5-7 and 145 pounds, he realized a career as a professional basketball or hockey player may not be in the cards. It was soon after Trofimuk discovered and fell in love with the sport of weightlifting. He was watching the 1976 Summer Olympics and Russian Superheavyweight Vasily Alekseyev won the gold medal.

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“I was just awestruck. I was like ‘I want to do that, I want to try that,'” he said.

Trofimuk’s parents bought him his first set of weights, and after years of teaching himself, Trofimuk eventually found a local club in Saskatoon to join.

“It was a sport that just hooked me because it didn’t matter how big you were, how tall you were, all that mattered was hard you worked,” he said.

In addition to his work as a coach, Ken Trofimuk competed at numerous weightlifting competitions. (submitted photo/ Chad Benko)

Trofimuk competed well into his 50s and represented Canada twice at the World Masters. Trofimuk expressed how he is also very proud of the thousands of athletes he helped coach and mentor over the years. Many have competed at provincials, westerns, and nationals. He said he takes great satisfaction seeing a young student, with unknown potential, achieve success and personal growth.

“It’s amazing at the end of a year or two years, you look back and you say they started here and look how well they have done,” he said.

Trofimuk will officially receive his award March 26 during the Sask. Sport awards night in Saskatoon at TCU Place.

The Saskatchewan Weightlifting Association has a chance to win two awards, as Saskatoon’s Lori Machisnick is a finalist for masters female athlete of the year.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell