Wallace Distelmeyer left his mark on the Canadian figure scene in more ways than one. As a competitor he was one of the brightest stars of an era that saw Canada emerge as an international force in the 1940s.  These were the days when young Canadian icebirds Barbara Ann Scott, Suzanne Morrow and Wallace Distelmeyer soared to lefty height in global competitions.
After an impressive competitive career, Distelmeyer turned his attention to coaching, leaving left his mark on the ice as mentor to several future stars. He coached Tracey Wainman, the 1977 Canadian senior women’s champion in her early sating days. He also coached Mississauga's Nancy Buys to the Canadian junior ladies crown in ‘76.  Buys and Wainman were respective back-to-back recipients of Mississauga’s Amateur Female Athlete of the Year award.  Another Mississaugan, Karen Preston, Canada’s senior women’s champion in 1990 and ‘92, also credits Wallace for a lot of her on-ice successes. “He encouraged me to pursue figure skating competitively,” said Karen after her second national championship win. “He had a huge influence on me and without him, I doubt I’d have taken up the sport seriously.”
Distelmeyer is the first figure skater in history to have won five disciplines out of a possible six.