Category: Athlete
Degree: B.A. (1946), B.Ed. (1949)
Robert Adams graduated from high school in Alsask, Sask., and enrolled in the University of Saskatchewan in the fall of 1942. His university career was interrupted in 1944-45 when he joined the Canadian Infantry.
In 1946, he represented the U of S at the first interuniversity track meet, a three-team competition. Bob won the discus and high jump, placed second in broad jump, hammer throw and javelin and accumulated 25 points, one point shy of the total for the entire University of Alberta. He became known as Saskatchewan's "one man team." As a result of his performance, a rule was introduced the following year limiting the number of events an athlete could enter.
Under the guidance of Joe Griffiths and Clarence Garvie, Bob achieved his goal of making the Canada team for the 1952 Olympics in Helsinski, Finland. He finished 19th in the decathlon at the Games. He also competed at the British Empire Games in Vancouver in 1954 as captain of the Canadian track team, placing fourth in pole vault and 14th in high jump.
Bob went on to coach with the Canadian track team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and served as a track official at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
He coached basketball, cross country and track & field at Nutana and Aden Bowman Collegiates and led his teams to four provincial high school boys basketball championships (Nutana 1947, 1951 and 1953; Aden Bowman 1964).
As an administrator, he was one of the charter members of the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association, was the first coordinator of physical education and high school athletics for the Saskatoon Public Board of Education and for years was a coach and executive member with the Saskatoon Track & Field Club.
Bob was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1975, into the Saskaton Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and was named Saskatoon Kinsmen Sportsman of the Year in 1972
The Saskatoon high school track & field championships are named in his honour.
