Wilf Wedmann

Wilf Wedmann was born in Germany and came to Canada as a toddler with his parents, settling in East Vancouver. An avid track athlete in his youth, he finished fourth in the high jump at the 1967 Pan American Games and later qualified for the 1968 Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City) Olympics while a 20-year-old student at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and became the school’s first Olympian. In 1970, he set the SFU high jump record at 2.10 metres, and in 1971, won a silver medal in high jump at the Pan American Games.

Also a high achiever in academics, Wedmann became the first Rhodes Scholar from Simon Fraser University in 1972, eventually earning a Master’s degree from Oxford University in politics, philosophy and economics. He later returned to his alma mater to serve as athletic director from 2000 to 2007, and was a co-founder of the British Columbia Premier’s Sport Awards Program alongside Harry Jerome. Wedmann died after a heart attack in 2021 at the age of 73.

Personal Best: HJ – 2.12 (1969).