Dr. Jack Taunton (right), with UBC KIN Director Dr. Rob Boushel (left) at the 2019 Winter Classic hockey game.
Dr. Jack Taunton, professor emeritus of UBC KIN, has known the importance of sports medicine since he was a boy. Despite suffering major health setbacks in his youth (he contracted polio at seven and was in a bike-car collision at fifteen), he made a full physical recovery due to extensive physiotherapy.
With an interest in the field of physiotherapy, which put him back on his feet, Jack went on to become one of the top Medicine students at UBC, and a nationally-ranked marathon runner. He ran 145km weekly and completed 62 lifetime with a personal best time of 2:25:29.
His love of running did not stop with his participation as a competitor. In 1971, Jack co-founded the Lions Gate Road Runners, the first road-running club in Canada, in 1971. From there, he and his wife Cheryl began to organize numerous road races in Stanley Park, including the BMO Vancouver International marathon. In 1985, Jack and Cheryl joined with Doug and Diane Clement, and transformed a race called the Lions Gate Eight into what we know as our annual Vancouver Sun Run.
During this time, in 1979, Jack co-founded the Allan McGavin sports medicine centre, the first clinic of its kind in Canada, with Doug Clement and Don McKenzie. As director of the centre for the past 25 years, Taunton has worked with athletes as both a doctor and a coach and with students as a graduate supervisor, clinical teacher and mentor.
Jack also went on to volunteer at numerous Olympic and Paralympic Games. He was a medical officer for Olympic Games in Los Angeles (’84), Seoul (’88) and Barcelona (’92), and Chief Medical Officer at the Sydney Olympics in 2000; and the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics. He served as team physician for the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Canadian men’s and women’s national field hockey teams.
Jack is still highly active within the community today. He is still involved with the Vancouver Sun Run. He continues to run injury and injury prevention studies, as well as raise awareness for public health issues through public presentations and television and radio appearances. Jack also created an outreach program to educate others on the risks of performance-enhancing drugs and the use of safe alternatives.
Jack also helped to raise $2.5 M for the School of Kinesiology’s new Chan Gunn Pavilion that houses the Allan McGavin Clinic, and was inducted into the 2018 Olympic Oval Wall of Fame in the Special Achievement category. This honour is awarded to one who has made a significant contribution to sport in Richmond, exemplifies good character and dedication, and provides inspiration to present and future generations.
In 2024, Jack was appointed to the Order of Canada in recognition of his contributions to sports medicine and the broader community.