 Podborski during 2010 Olympics torch relay | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Stephen Gregory Podborski | |||||||||||||
| Born | July 25, 1957 Toronto, Ontario | |||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Alpine skiing | |||||||||||||
Medal record
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Stephen Gregory "Steve" Podborski, OC (born July 25, 1957) [1] is a Canadian former World Cup and Olympic downhill ski racer.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Podborski started skiing at the age of two and a half at Craigleith Ski Club in Craigleith, Ontario. He joined the Canadian alpine ski team in 1973 and made his World Cup debut in 1974 at age 17, scoring two top ten finishes in his first World Cup season. He was due to make his Olympic debut at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, however he ruptured two knee ligaments in an accident just before the Games. [2] He was a member of the Crazy Canucks, and won the bronze medal in the downhill at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
In 1982, Podborski became the first North American to win the World Cup season title in downhill ski racing. In total, he won eight World Cup downhill races, including the notorious Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel, Austria, which he won twice (1981–82). In 34 more races, he finished in the top 10. He retired following the 1984 season at age 26. Podborski was on the podium in World Cup races 20 times in approximately 100 races with 8 victories.
Erik Guay is the only other male Canadian ski racer to win a World Cup season title (Super-G, 2011) (Nancy Greene won two overall World Cup crystal globes as well as two discipline titles in giant slalom) with 5 World Cup career wins, 1 in Downhill. Ken Read came close to winning the World Cup Downhill title (downhill, 1980) finishing second.
Podborski's racing career and successes led to many accolades, including being honoured with the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 20 | DNF2 | 33 | not run | 7 | — |
| 1980 | 22 | — | — | 3 | — | |
| 1982 | 24 | — | — | 9 | — |
From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 22 | — | — | not run | 3 | not run |
| 1984 | 26 | — | — | 8 |
In 1982, Podborski was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Podborski was inducted to the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985, Canadian Ski Hall of Fame in 1986 and Canadian Sport Hall of Fame in 1987.
In 2006, Podborski was inducted into the Ontario Sport Hall of Fame and his former team the Crazy Canucks were honoured on Canada's Walk of Fame.
Podborski participated in Prince Edward's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament in 1987.
He was on the bid committee for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, responsible for international relations; he also worked as a sports newscaster in Salt Lake City. He worked as a commentator for American television for three Winter Olympics (2002–2010). He covered freestyle skiing for NBC in 2006 and 2002, and snowboarding for Olympics on CBS in 1998. Podborski also covered the Olympic Games in Athens for NBC doing play by Play with Paul Sherwen for Cycling as well as play by play for Tae Kwon Do.
Podborski's endeavours also include senior leadership roles in the corporate and non-profit sectors. In 2003, Podborski joined the Telus telecommunications firm, leading to a position of National Director, Community Sports and remained with the organisation until June 2017.
Podborski was named the Chef de Mission for the Canadian Olympic Team for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014.
In June 2017, Podborski became President and CEO of Parachute, a Canadian charitable organisation which focuses on injury prevention. Podborski describes his move into the injury prevention field as a natural extension of his athletic training: "I was the guy who wanted to win, and you can’t win when you fall and get hurt. I was an early, dedicated fan of preventing injury." [3] Podborski retired as CEO in May 2019 but continues to serve on Parachute's Board of Directors.
Janica Kostelić is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and four-time Olympic gold medalist from Croatia. In addition to the Olympics, she won five gold medals at the World Championships. In World Cup competition, she won thirty individual races, three overall titles, three slalom titles, and four combined titles. Kostelic's accomplishments in professional skiing have led some commentators, writers, and fellow ski racers to regard her as the greatest female ski racer of all time.
Anne Heggtveit, is a former alpine ski racer from Canada. She was an Olympic gold medallist and double world champion in 1960.
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The Crazy Canucks was the nickname for a group of World Cup alpine ski racers from Canada who rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. Jungle Jim Hunter, Dave Irwin, Dave Murray, Steve Podborski, and Ken Read earned themselves a reputation for fast and seemingly reckless skiing in the downhill event.
Kenneth John Read is one of the most respected sport leaders in Canada. This World Cup alpine ski racer from Canada was a specialist in the downhill and a two-time Olympian. He won five World Cup races during his ten-year international career, all in downhill.
Wallace Jerold "Buddy" Werner was an American alpine ski racer in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Laurie Graham, is a former Canadian downhill skier.
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Erik Guay is a Canadian former World Cup alpine ski racer. Racing out of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Guay won the World Cup season title in super-G in 2010 and was the world champion in downhill in 2011, as well as in the super-G in 2017. With 25 World Cup podiums, he is the career leader for Canada.
Dave Irwin is a former alpine ski racer who represented Canada at two Winter Olympic Games and won a World Cup downhill. He was one of the "Crazy Canucks", a group of Canadian downhill racers who rose to prominence on the World Cup circuit in the late 1970s. He lives in Canmore, Alberta, near the Rocky Mountains.
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David Murray was an alpine ski racer. He was noted for being a member of the Crazy Canucks, the Canadian downhill racers of the late 1970s and early 1980s known for their fearless racing style. His teammates in the group were Ken Read, Dave Irwin, and Steve Podborski.
Carlo Janka is a Swiss former alpine ski racer. Born in Obersaxen, in the canton of Graubünden, he had the winter sports facilities right in front of his home. Janka has won gold medals at both the Winter Olympics and the World Championships, as well as one World Cup overall title, one discipline title and also, one unofficial alpine combined title.
Todd Brooker is a former alpine ski racer member Crazy Canucks and a ski commentator on television.
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Jim Hunter, nicknamed "Jungle Jim", is a Canadian former alpine ski racer who represented Canada at two Winter Olympic Games in 1972 and 1976, and won a bronze medal in the 1972 World Championships. He was a member of the Canadian Men's Alpine Ski Team nicknamed the "Crazy Canucks", and is considered to be the original Crazy Canuck.
Erik Read is a Canadian World Cup alpine ski racer specializing the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, he represented Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics and three World Championships.
