A University of Calgary alum, James Holder joined the Dinos as an assistant track and field coach in April of 2021, working with combined events and vertical jumps.
Holder brings extensive coaching experience back to his alma mater, representing Canada internationally as an athlete, coach and senior administrator.
As an athlete, Holder competed in the decathlon for 12 years – including six internationally. He trained under Dinos coach Les Gramantik. He won a national championship in the decathlon and finished with a career-best score of 7264 points.
After his retirement from competition in 2007, Holder has gone on to work with athletes at all levels, coaching the decathlon, heptathlon, pole vault and high jump for men and women internationally at the height of the sport – most recently at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Professionally, Holder is a Senior Analyst at Sport Canada, the branch in the Department of Canadian Heritage responsible for the advancement of sport across the country. His responsibilities include managing the relationship and funding framework for the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network, collaboration and delivery of four Sport Legacy Funds, and High Performance Coaching Education in Canada.
Holder earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Calgary in 1999 and a Masters degree in Human Kinetics from the University of Ottawa in 2015.
