After 40 years, Luke Grinder has caught up to his past.
The Calgary man, who grew up in Salmon Arm, achieved a gold-medal hat trick when he took first place three times in his age category at the 2025 Canadian Masters Outdoor Championships, held Aug. 1 to 3 at Laval, Quebec. The medals were won in the 100-, 200- and 400-metre sprint, with his respective times (12.10, 24.25 and 53.69) being not only personal bests, but also putting him in the top spot for each distance among Canadian men aged 50-54 in the Worlds Masters Rankings. Grinder's time in the 400m was is also 7th fastest time in the world this year.
A point of personal pride, Grinder, 51, also holds the top spot in the 400m among Alberta men aged 50-54.
Following his triple gold wins at Laval, Grinder said he shared with his girlfriend a photocopy of an article from the June 19, 1985 Observer. At that time, Grinder was 11 and a student at Salmon Arm West.
With the headline, Records tumble at track meet, the piece is about the year's Shuswap District Elementary School track meet.
"Both Mike Beckner and Luke Grinder had perfect days at this year'sÎÚÑ»´«Ã½¦ track meet, placing first in all three of their individual events," reads the story lede.
On the same page of the article is a photo of Beckner, 9, and Grinder, holding the Clancy Jamieson Trophy, the shared honour awarded to them for being the meet's overall top competitors.
The article notes Grinder had broken the school-district record in the 400-metre dash, with a time of 1:02.43.
Grinder said the article, photocopied by his mother, was an as inspiration for him in 2021 when friends suggested he get back into track and field.
"I'd like to thank Grad '91 classmates and friends Troy Taillefer (Bastion Elementary alumnus and now a lawyer in Victoria) and Levi Cooperman (Silver Creek alumnus and Freshbooks co-founder, now living in Toronto) for convincing me to start training for the 400m back in 2021," said Grinder, who joined the Spartans Track and Field Team in Calgary in 2022 and in 2023 started running independently.
Grinder grew up in Gleneden. He remembers continuing with track and field when he attended J.L. Jackson, but said there weren't many people doing it at the time. After graduation, he attended Simon Fraser University where he played rugby.
"I wasnÎÚÑ»´«Ã½™t on the varsity team, I was on a lower tier until I broke my collarbone and decided to give up on rugby because I was tired of breaking things," laughed Grinder.
Grinder competed in his first Canadian Masters Outdoor Championships in 2023, where he won a bronze medal in the 400m in the age 45-to-50 category. The following year, competing in the 50-54 category, he won silver in the 400m and bronze in the 200m.
"I now have the confidence to go to the Masters World Championships in Korea in 2026, make the final and go for a medal," said Grinder, who is also looking for more local records to break.
"In indoor, thereÎÚÑ»´«Ã½™s a 300-metre record that I might be able to break ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½“ when the indoor season comes," he said.
Outside of training or competing, Grinder is a supply chain manager with De Havilland Aircraft of Canada and lives with his 17-year-old daughter Naomi and 12-year-old son, Dylan who is following in his father's fast footsteps.
"HeÎÚÑ»´«Ã½™s in track and heÎÚÑ»´«Ã½™s actually the provincial champion in his age category in Alberta," said Grinder.
Asked what his kids think of his win, Grinder said "I donÎÚÑ»´«Ã½™t think they think itÎÚÑ»´«Ã½™s much of a big deal." But he didn't seemed phased by this, adding "I focus more on their accomplishments and stuff."
Asked why he's held onto the Observer article, Grinder said it's out of nostalgia. In 2021, when considering getting back into track, the article was "a reminder to my older self that at one time I was good at it. Maybe if I tried it out againÎÚÑ»´«Ã½¦"
