One of the most prominent coaching names in the sport, Les Gramantik has been involved with the Calgary Dinos track & field program over 35 years, helping lead the Dinos to consistently be one of the premier programs in all of Canada.
Growing up as an elite athlete and international pole vaulter in Romania, Gramantik came to Calgary in the 1980’s and quickly made a name for himself. Since 1984, he has been selected to coach with the Canadian National Team in various roles, including six Commonwealth Games, three Pan American Games, eight Olympics/Paralympics and 11 World Championships.
Most notably, Gramantik was the head coach of the Canadian National Team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
He has now coached over 50 Canadian National Champions and medalists in a variety of events, and has been named the Athletics Alberta High Performance Coach of the Year six times in his career.
At the university level, Gramantik served as the head coach of the Dinos program from 1987-2005. He was named the CIAU (now U SPORTS) Coach of the Year in 1991, as well as the Canada West Coach of the Year six times during his tenure. He helped lead Calgary to 12 conference titles and five national championships as head coach.
Since 2005, Gramantik has served as an assistant coach for the Dinos, continuing their run as one of the top programs in the country.
Gramantik holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Education and Physical Education, as well as a Masters of Coach Science degree from the University of Bucharest.
