Hall of Fame - Athlete Category

Dave attended River East Collegiate, and started high school wrestling, under coach Phil McBurney. After winning all the local and provincial tournaments in 1977, McKay entered his first national event. At the Canadian Junior Open Championships, he won the gold medal in Greco Roman Wrestling. In 1978, McKay grappled his way onto the International scene with great success, winning a bronze medal at the World Elite Junior Championships in the United States. In 1979, he won the team trials in both Greco Roman and Freestyle before representing Canada at the Pan American Junior Games in Mexico, with a silver medal in Greco, and a fourth-place finish in Freestyle. McKay accepted a scholarship to Simon Fraser University in 1980. After taking several University, Canadian and International titles, he advanced to the Olympic Level, and was one of eight Manitobans to compete at the L.A. Olympics in 1984. David’s career finished at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, with a highly respectable fifth place finish. After retirement in 1989, David McKay became the head coach of Simon Fraser University, and a coach of the Canadian Elite Team. David coached Daniel Igali, who captured Canada’s only Olympic wrestling gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. David was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.