Canada's Olympic Skiing/Snowboarding Memories

1980 Lake Placid, New York (USA)

In the nordic events, Steve Collins, who at 15 years of age became the youngest ski jumper in Olympic Winter Games history, excelled by placing a surprising 9th in the 90-metre event. Strong wind gusts in the 70-metre event impeded most of the jumpers including Canadians Steve Collins, Tauno Käyhkö, and Horst Bulau.

In women's cross country, the Firth twins (Sharon and Shirley) were participating in their 3rd consecutive Olympic Winter Games, while Joan Groothuysen and Esther Miller were participating in their second. Due to a lack of top-16 finishes in International cross country competitions, no Canadian males met the Canadian Olympic Association's required Olympic criteria.

Steve Podborski became the first Canadian male skier to win an Olympic medal in an alpine event by winning bronze in downhill, while Dave Murray and Dave Irwin came in 10th and 11th respectively. Unfortunately, highly touted medal favourite Ken Read fell just seconds into his run. The women's downhill results were equally impressive with Kathy Kreiner (5th), Laurie Graham (11th) and Loni Klettl (13th). Kreiner's achievements were not restricted to the downhill event, as she placed 9th in the giant slalom, and 15th in the slalom.

Opening date: February 13, 1980
Closing date: February 24, 1980
Candidate cities: Vancouver-Garibaldi (CAN) who withdrew before the final vote

To return to 'Canada's Olympic Skiing/Snowboarding Memories' exhibit, please click here.

For a brief history of the Olympic Games, please click here.

To learn more about the skiing disciplines at the Olympic Winter Games, please click here.