No question that Harry was an extraordinary athlete and a great person. I was with him, as a teammate, at the senior Worlds in 1973. Glynn Leyshon was the coach and was always looking to find ways and means to prepare his athletes for the rigour of of international competition.
Our training regimen included 4 workouts a day - pushing the limits in those days, at least by Canadian standards. Harry accepted whatever challenges the coach presented as part of his responsibility. As a neophyte on the world wrestling stage, I had a real role model in Harry and it served me well to try to follow his positive example.
In fact, I followed him in other ways, as well. Our morning run of about 4 miles was always lead by Harry. Chase as I might, I could never finish ahead of him and that kind of subtle leadership from him kept me striving to improve , rather than fretting about how hard we were working. He was the biggest man on the team, in more ways than one.
I remember well meeting Harry at the NCAA Championships held in Michigan, just months before he died. Frank Corning and I went down together and tried to find the most inexpensive hotel in Auburn Hills. When we finally settled on one and moved into our basic accommodations, we found that Harry was staying in the room next to us. Always seeking a a good deal and never needing more than a flat place to sleep, Harry's presence confirmed for us that we had, indeed, found the best bargain in town.
For us, the NCAA Championship was a first-time experience. But Harry was a veteran, both as an athlete and a loyal Okalahoma State alumnus. Frank and I were stuck by the respect shown to Harry by both Cowboy fans and wrestlers alike. He arranged for us to have the best seats in the place and we felt like we were the guests of royalty. That was the last time I saw him and I am so happy it was in that setting, where his status as a wrestling icon was obvious and he felt totally at home.
About Guy Zink
As a member of the Western Wrestling team Guy was undefeated in OUA dual meet and tournament competition, winning 4 OUA gold medals, 2 CIS gold medals and the National Open Championship. He was selected as wrestling MVP twice and competed as a member of the National team in the World Championships and the World University Games.
After graduation, Guy taught and coached at Centre Wellington District High School and St. John’s-Kilmarnock School. Over a period of 31 years, his athletes won 32 OFSAA medals, including team Championships in Wrestling (1981) and Field Hockey (2006-09). He was a National Junior Wrestling team coach at the World and Pan- Am Championships and was QAWA Junior Coach of the Year (1980). He received the OFSAA Leadership in Sport Award (2002) and the OFSAA Pete Beech Award (2005).
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