Canada's Olympic Skiing/Snowboarding Memories
1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
Sarajevo's selection as the host city for the XIV Winter Olympic games prompted scepticism from those who suggested that it lacked the infrastructure and experience of former winter Olympic venues. The critics were proved wrong. Just two weeks prior to the official opening, Sarajevo's Olympic Committee announced that the city was ready, thanks in no small measure to the unique sacrifices and direct involvement of its citizens.
Although no medals were won in women's alpine events, Canadian downhillers performed well as Gerry Sorensen and Laurie Graham placed 6th and 11th respectively, with Liisa Savijarvi (18th) and Karen Stemmle (22nd). In giant slalom, Liisa Savijarvi was 8th, Diana Haight (17th), while Andrea Bédard was disqualified for missing a gate on her second run.
In downhill competition, Steve Podborski was unable to repeat his bronze medal winning performance from the 1980 games, finishing in 8th place. Just 5/100ths of a second behind Podborski was Todd Brooker in 9th, with Gary Athans placing 26th. Jim Read finished 24th in the giant slalom event, while Mike Tommy was disqualified in the slalom event for missing a gate.
Angela Schmidt-Foster, Sharon and Shirley Firth competed in all women's cross country events (5km, 10km, 20km.) It was the fourth consecutive Winter Olympics for the Firth twins. Pierre Harvey competed in all men's cross country events (15km, 30km, 50km) with consistent finishes of 21st, 21st, and 20th respectively.
Although ski jumpers struggled with strong winds and an icy in-run, Steve Collins and Ron Richards performed well but to everyone's surprise, Horst Bulau's unexpected 10th place finish in the 90-metre event was Canada's best result.
Opening date: February 8, 1984
Closing date: February 19, 1984
Candidate cities: Sapporo (JPN), Falun/Göteborg (SWE)
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