Charles Clinton Lyda (1952-2010)

Charles Clinton Lyda, a Lt. Col. in the California National Guard, died on Saturday, June 12, 2010, after a 7-month battle with cancer. He was 57.

Mr. Lyda, was USA Canoe Kayak Team member in slalom and a sprint canoer who competed in the mid to late 1970s. He won two gold medals in the mixed C-2 event at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, earning them in 1975 and 1977.

Lyda competed as a sprint canoer in the C-2 1000 m event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, but was eliminated in the repechage rounds. He also qualified for the 1980 Summer Olympics but was unable to compete because the United States boycotted that event.

Chuck, a world champion athlete, was also coach of the U.S. Biathlon Team at the Nagano (1998) and Salt Lake City (2002) Winter Olympics, and served one year in Tikrit, Iraq, with the Army Corps of Engineers in 2006/2007.

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Tags: Canoe Slalom