Passing of a Legend (long)
Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 4:18 pm
I suspect some here may have known him in his racing heyday. This guy was a huge stud, and it will be a while before before someone like this comes along again. Next time you are on the water, take a couple of full throttle pulls in his memory, whether on whitewater, flatwater, or outrigger...edg
Charles Clinton Lyda was born in San Diego, California. Chuck enlisted in the 132nd Engineer Battalion on January 18th, 1983 and became a combat engineer. He was preparing to deploy on his second tour to Iraq when diagnosed with cancer in 2009. He died at the age of 57.
Chuck is two-time Olympian (1976 [with Andy Toro in C-2 Sprint at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada]), 1980 [K-2 Sprint with Bill Leach] ) and a two-time World Champion (1975, 1977) in slalom C-2M, with Marrietta Gilman. He also had a stack of national championships in C-1 and C-2, in both slalom and wildwater events. In 1979 he earned a silver medal in the C-1 wildwater team event, with Kent Ford and Johnny Evans. Chuck's log listed over 178 rivers he had paddled in his career.
He was on 28 national teams, winter (Biathlon) and summer (Canoe/Kayak). He competed in biathlon at the World Cup level
before becoming the head coach for the Army World Class
Athlete Program (W.C.A.P.) Biathlon Team in 1995. Chuck
was selected as a member of the U.S. Olympic Biathlon
Team coaching staff after putting four of his athletes on the
1998 Olympic Biathlon Team. Chuck coached through the
2002 Salt Lake Games.
An all around waterman, Chuck's team, "Blazing Paddles", was the first non-Hawaiian team to take 1st place in the Molokai crossing, in 1978, winning again in 1980 and 1982. He also raced marathon canoes and k-2's nationally and internationally.
He is survived by his wife Carol Schick-Lyda, his mother Charmian, sister Laramée, and his brother Grady. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors on October 8, 2010.
Charles Clinton Lyda was born in San Diego, California. Chuck enlisted in the 132nd Engineer Battalion on January 18th, 1983 and became a combat engineer. He was preparing to deploy on his second tour to Iraq when diagnosed with cancer in 2009. He died at the age of 57.
Chuck is two-time Olympian (1976 [with Andy Toro in C-2 Sprint at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada]), 1980 [K-2 Sprint with Bill Leach] ) and a two-time World Champion (1975, 1977) in slalom C-2M, with Marrietta Gilman. He also had a stack of national championships in C-1 and C-2, in both slalom and wildwater events. In 1979 he earned a silver medal in the C-1 wildwater team event, with Kent Ford and Johnny Evans. Chuck's log listed over 178 rivers he had paddled in his career.
He was on 28 national teams, winter (Biathlon) and summer (Canoe/Kayak). He competed in biathlon at the World Cup level
before becoming the head coach for the Army World Class
Athlete Program (W.C.A.P.) Biathlon Team in 1995. Chuck
was selected as a member of the U.S. Olympic Biathlon
Team coaching staff after putting four of his athletes on the
1998 Olympic Biathlon Team. Chuck coached through the
2002 Salt Lake Games.
An all around waterman, Chuck's team, "Blazing Paddles", was the first non-Hawaiian team to take 1st place in the Molokai crossing, in 1978, winning again in 1980 and 1982. He also raced marathon canoes and k-2's nationally and internationally.
He is survived by his wife Carol Schick-Lyda, his mother Charmian, sister Laramée, and his brother Grady. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors on October 8, 2010.