by Dr. Veronica Jamnik
It is with profound sadness we mourn the loss of Dr. Norman Gledhill. Dr Gledhill passed away with his family by his side on January 16, 2025. Dr. Gledhill is lovingly remembered by his wife of 59 years, Dawn; sons, Scott (Sara) and Ryan (Leighellen); grandsons: Reid, Cole and Jaiman, his brother Victor, numerous family members, friends, colleagues and former mentees from around the world.
Dr. Gledhill’s journey through life was marked by numerous achievements plus contributions and his capacity to bring others along with him. A person of many talents and passions, Dr. Gledhill was always willing to engage ideas and invest his time and his energy in improving others’ work.
Dr. Gledhill was a preeminent scholar, a visionary, a dedicated mentor, a supportive colleague, and a respectful adversary. Dr. Gledhill’s passion for education, life long learning and the purposeful contributions of research in advancing the discipline of exercise physiology and it’s wide range of applications such as to ergogenic aids (blood doping, soda loading, volume loading), cardiac function (ventricular filling rate, challenging the prevailing premise that stroke volume always plateaus), health- and performance-related physical/physiological fitness strategies for primary prevention, secondary and tertiary management, sports medicine, high performance sport, public safety physically demanding public safety occupations, occupational physiology, respiratory physiology (VA/Q Ratio) and cardiovascular physiology (VO2max) was inspiring as were his infectious “joie de vivre” and unrivalled work ethic.
After completing his undergraduate and Masters’ degree at the University of Western Ontario he went on to the University of Wisconsin for his Ph.D. in the Department of Physiology and Preventative Medicine. Upon graduation, he returned to Ontario and completed post-doctoral studies in Respiratory Physiology at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children before going on to join the School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at York University in 1974. Dr. Gledhill was instrumental in shaping the school’s evolving curriculum and developing the Undergraduate Certificate Program in Fitness Assessment and Exercise Counselling and the Master of Fitness Science graduate program. Over his academic career at York, he has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students and held many leadership positions at York. He published over 150 peer-reviewed research articles, 11 book/manuals, and 26 conference proceedings and book chapters.
Dr Gledhill was influential in establishing Canada’s Doping Control Agency. Dr. Gledhill was focused on the competitive integrity in sport at the national and international level. Following the drug scandal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, when Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal in the 100-metre sprint after testing positive for anabolic steroids, the federal government established the Commission of Inquiry into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance (Dubin Inquiry). Dr Gledhill was involved as an expert witness and through his investigations and publications he was instrumental in developing internationally respected guidelines for blood doping in sport. This work resulted in his accepting several appointments with the Pan American Sports Medicine Council, the International Sports Medicine Federation (FIMS) and the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) to advance ethical practices in high-performance competition. During this period Dr. Gledhill was also Chairman of the Canadian Centre for Drug Free Sport which took him around the world assisting other nations to develop policies and procedures that encourage athletes to compete at their highest level possible without the use of performance enhancing drugs.
Dr. Gledhill was extensively involved in Canadian amateur sport development. He was chairman of the Canadian Figure Skating Association’s Medical/Scientific Committee, chairman of the Medical Scientific Committee of Squash Canada and President of the Canadian Association of Sport Sciences. Dr. Gledhill also pprovided physical plus physiological fitness assessments and training strategies to a variety of athlete groups, their coaches and parents: i) developing figure skaters such as Kurt B, Browning, Elvis Stojko, Brian Orser, Robert McCall, Tracy Wilson, etc ii) the Crazy Canucks Ski Team ( eg Brian Stemmel, etc), iii) Women’s Soccer Team (these were the early days for Katherine Sinclair) iv) Canada’s Cricket Team, v) the men’s and women’s field hockey teams and the synchronized swimming team, and vi) Toronto Football Club. Dr. Gledhill and his students at York University were instrumental in designing and conducting the National Hockey League Entry Draft Combine when it was first introduced in the 1990s. The NHL Entry Draft Combine is an annual event that takes place before the NHL draft. It involves interviews, medical screenings, and fitness tests over a four-day period. All NHL teams send representatives to watch the testing and to take part in the interviewing of the young prospects. In addition, Dr Gledhill was involved with the NHL to conduct a multi-year investigation of the physical fitness of prospective junior hockey players entering the NHL. Dr. Gledhill was also involved with the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club in the design of their annual player fitness evaluations.
Dr. Gledhill was very active both professionally and as a volunteer in working to promote the development of programs to encourage Canadians to adopt a physically active lifestyle across the lifespan. At the request of the Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation in the late 1980s a team lead by Dr. Gledhill designed and implemented a credentialling program to ensure evidence-based standards of practice for front-line exercise professionals working in YMCAs, commercial fitness facilities, wellness clinics plus municipal parks and recreation departments. This program was subsequently adopted across Canada by all provinces and territories and is still being implemented to this day. This micro credentialing program has also been adopted by numerous other countries to ensure safe program standards and minimize potential injuries associated with high intensity exercise. Injuries and possibly death are always a potential risk whenever sedentary individuals engage in strenuous exercise. Between 1980 and 1987 there were six deaths in physical commercial fitness facilities in Ontario that resulted in Coroner’s Inquest safety recommendations. In most instances, such injuries and fatalities could have been averted if precautionary measures had been in place. In 1987 the Ministry of Tourism and Recreation asked Dr Gledhill to convene an expert committee in conjunction with the Ontario Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences to develop safety standards for the fitness industry. A major research project was commissioned to determine the nature, incidence and severity of injuries experienced by participants in fitness related activities in municipal recreation facilities and commercial fitness clubs and ultimately resulted in safety standards being adopted by the industry that are still in use today across Canada.
In 1984 the Federal Government, through the Department of Fitness and Amateur Sport, and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation agreed to work cooperatively to develop a scientifically sound public policy framework for the promotion of physical activity participation in Canada. Over a 20-year period Dr Gledhill played a leading role in designing and hosting numerous conferences linking scientific research with public policy to advance health-enhancing physical activity participation. These conferences: the International Conference on Exercise, Fitness and Health (Toronto 1988), International Conference on Physical Activity, Fitness and Health (Toronto1992), the Dose Response Conference (Hockley Valley (2000), Communicating Physical Activity and Health Messages (Whistler 2001), The International Conference on Physical Activity and Obesity in Children (Toronto 2007), Advancing the risk stratification and self-administered physical activity participation clearance tools to reduce the barriers to physical activity participation: Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+) and the new online electronic Physical Activity Readiness Medical Examination (ePARmed-X+) (Vancouver 2007); the International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health ( Toronto 2010) and the 8th International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) (Vancouver 2021) were all held in Canada and brought internationally recognized scientists from around the world together to advance the local and international understanding and global research activity related to physical activity participation, fitness and health. The 1988 and 1993 conference proceedings formed a major component of the US Surgeon General’s 1996 Report on Physical Activity and Health that was released at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
In conformity with court decisions and human rights requirements, Dr. Gledhill also turned his attention to the development of job-related physical and physiological standards that qualify as Bona Fide Occupational Requirement for individuals pursuing careers in public safety physically demanding occupations where safe and efficient job completion is critical to the preservation of life and property.
Dr. Gledhill’s legacy will continue to live on in the knowledge he imparted, the lives he enriched, and the inspiration he provided to all who knew him. His groundbreaking and internationally renowned research, innovative teaching, and tireless commitment to fostering excellence have left an indelible mark on our discipline. Dr. Gledhill was never one to wait for the storm to pass, he embraced the challenge to navigate through it. He will be dearly missed.
