[1] His parents Mr. and Mrs. Rade Trifunov came from Jarkovac, Austria-Hungary, now Serbia, to Canada in March 1902 and settled in Truax, Saskatchewan, where James was born the following year.

[2][3] Of Serbian descent,[4][5] Jim Trifunov began his career as a newsboy in Regina, later he took up wrestling at his local YMCA in 1922.

He also won a gold medal in the bantamweight division at the inaugural 1930 British Empire Games by defeating Joseph Reid of England.

He retired from active competition following the 1932 Olympic Games and resumed his career with Regina's Leader-Post.

While there he took up coaching and sports administration, eventually serving as president of the Manitoba Wrestling Association for a quarter of a century.