The fastest man in Canadian university track & field history is headed to the Dinos Hall of Fame.

Sam Effah (BComm '14), who still holds the conference and national records in the 60 metres, enters the Class of 2024 as one of the most decorated male U SPORTS track and field athletes of all time. 

But Effah’s incredible career was close to not being a reality if it weren’t for former Dinos sprints coach Brenda Van Tighem.  

“At the time, I didn't really have a ton of direction,” Effah said of Van Tighem’s recruitment.  “I didn't know what I was even going to take if I were to even get into university. So to have her sort of say, ‘Hey, I see the talents in you. I see, the potential that you have,’ was kind of my first direction to high-performance sport.” 

Van Tighem’s vision was the University of Calgary’s gain.  

Over his five years with the Dinos track and field program, Effah claimed 24 medals between conference and national championships – an incredible 17 of which were gold. 

Effah was also awarded U SPORTS Male Track & Field Athlete of the Year four times: 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.

While he had no shortage of awards and accolades during his time as a Dino, one moment stands out above the rest. 

“When I broke the Canadian university record, that for me was the best moment,” Effah said. 

The Dinos track star set the 60-metre record at the 2010 national championships when he ran 6.57. And he did it with something to prove. 

“It was the year after an Olympics, and I didn't make it, but there were Olympians that were competing at the national championships,” Effah said. “That race for me was sort of proving to myself that I am capable. And I think by continuing to still have that record now, it just goes to show that support I had, but also the training was there.”

Effah would use that as a springboard to do great things both on and off the track. He was a staple of the Canadian national track team, competing at both the Commonwealth Games (2010, 2014, 2018) and World Track and Field Championships (2009, 2011, 2013) for the red and white.

Effah’s resume off the track includes being named co-Chef de Mission for the 2022  Commonwealth Games, being a 2019 The Amazing Race Canada participant, inspiring crowds as a keynote speaker and much more. And he’ll be the first to admit he wouldn’t be where he is now without his time at the University of Calgary.

“I felt like I was a stronger person in the world because of what I had gone through and the people that surrounded me,” Effah said of his time with the Dinos. “I sort of brought that same mentality outside of just the sport into everything that I touched on. So it just built me into the person that I am, and I'm super grateful for having gone through the route that I did.”

Effah was quick to credit all of his Dinos coaches and teammates for helping him accomplish all that he did, including a fellow 2024 inductee in Les Gramantik. But he also wanted to make sure to give a special thank you to one of his former teammates, Nigel Joseph, who tragically passed away late last year after losing his battle with cancer.

“When I started track, (Joseph) was somebody who really took me under his wing. He kind of gave me the confidence to keep pushing. He believed in me,” Effah said. “We are all Dinos, and he definitely embodied that. And you know, throughout my track career as a Dino, internationally and then onto the world stage, I kept that strong with me.”

Effah continues to embrace the “We are all Dinos” mentality that Joseph embodied to this day and couldn’t be more proud to be honoured alongside the incredible five other individuals named to the 2024 Dinos Hall of Fame class. 

“There's nobody slacking on this list,” Effah said of the 2024 class. “And I think to be in the presence of this calibre of talent, it’s an awesome feeling. It just reaffirms that the Dinos are not only doing great things in sport, but we're leaving strong legacies behind.”

Effah and the rest of the 2024 class will be officially inducted into the Dinos Hall of Fame on Oct. 28. Tickets are available now.