Lucille Wheeler

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Lucille Wheeler (born January 14, 1935 in Saint-Jovite , Québec ) is a former Canadian ski racer . At the Alpine World Ski Championships in 1958 in Bad Gastein , Austria , she was two-time world champion in downhill and giant slalom . She won a silver medal in the Alpine Combined . Two years earlier she had already won a bronze medal in the downhill at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo .

biography

Wheeler grew up in the village of Saint-Jovite in the Laurentides . Her family played a key role there in developing the region into a ski area. Her grandfather George Wheeler founded the famous Gray Rocks ski center on Mont Tremblant . Lucille Wheeler learned to ski at the age of two and showed such great talent that she soon competed against older runners. At the age of ten, she finished seventh in a downhill race on Mont Tremblant, which was open to runners of all ages. At the age of twelve she became the Canadian junior champion and at the age of 14 she qualified for the Alpine World Ski Championships in Aspen . However, her parents believed she was too young to be absent from school and did not allow her to attend the event.

At the beginning of the 1950s, it was still very difficult for Canadian skiers to pursue their sport, as the Canadian government hardly supported skiing financially and professional training could only be financed through personal contributions. Lucille Wheeler's parents, who recognized their daughter's talent, paid for several training sessions in Kitzbühel . This effort paid off. After rank 7 in the Alpine World Ski Championships in Are (Sweden) on March 1, 1954 and two second places in downhill and combined (including 9th place in slalom) at the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel on 14/15. January 1956, she won the bronze medal in the Downhill at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, making her the first Canadian female skier in the history of the Games to win an Olympic medal. Two years later she made a spectacular appearance at the World Ski Championships in Bad Gastein, Austria, when she became double world champion in downhill and giant slalom and (with 14th place in slalom on February 3) missed the world championship title by 0.53 points in the alpine combination ( before the final giant slalom she was only 3rd in the combined interim ranking).

For this achievement, Wheeler was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as the most outstanding Canadian sportswoman of the year in 1958 and was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame . In August 1959 she announced her retirement from competitive sports.

In the course of her career she had won three Canadian championship titles (downhill 1953, combination 1953 and 1955).

Wheeler played a ski instructor alongside Réal Charette in an educational film. This film was named Best Educational Film in Sports by the American Library Association in 1960 . A few years later she married American football legend Kaye Vaughan . She initially lived with him in Ottawa , but moved to the ski resort of Knowlton in 1967 . They both raised two children there. In the high school in the neighboring town of Cowansville , Wheeler organized ski courses to introduce children to the sport.

In 1976 she was awarded the Order of Canada , the country's highest civilian merit, and inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame .

Wheeler's successes resulted in a substantial increase in the Canadian government's spending on promoting skiing. As a result of the changed funding, the so-called Crazy Canucks conquered the World Cup scene, which had been dominated by Europeans until then , from the beginning of the 1970s . Their successes also helped to increase the popularity of skiing considerably across the country. Wheeler served as a figurehead for the ski region in the province of Québec.

Other important placements

  • 4th place in the downhill and 2nd place in the slalom and 3rd place in the combination on 16./17. March 1956 at the “Gornergrat Derby” in Zermatt
  • Victory in the downhill and with rank 7 in the slalom also combined victory on the Hahnenkamm on 19/20. January 1957
  • 2nd place in the giant slalom at the "Pre-World Championship" in Bad Gastein on January 23, 1957
  • 4th place in slalom and 2nd place in giant slalom on January 31/1. February 1957 at the »11. Garmisch Winter Sports Week «

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ «Austria still without world championship title» . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna March 2, 1954, p. 8 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  2. ↑ Toni Sailer wins the downhill race . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 15, 1956, p. 28 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  3. ↑ Favorite for Cortina: Toni Sailer . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 17, 1956, p. 8 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  4. ^ "Frieda Dänzer (Switzerland) Combination World Champion"; “Sport Zürich”, No. 17 of February 10, 1958, page 2.
  5. ↑ Column 4, bottom, last post: "The two-time Canadian ski world champion ..." In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna August 29, 1959, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  6. ^ Molterer and Frandl winners in Zermatt . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna March 17, 1956, p. 8 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  7. ^ All winners to the Austrians . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna March 18, 1956, p. 28 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  8. ↑ Toni Sailer as good as in Cortina . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 20, 1957, p. 24 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  9. ↑ The victor who is not fit for a hero . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 22, 1957, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  10. ↑ Another Austrian ski triumph . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 24, 1957, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  11. ↑ Again the victory was denied . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 1, 1957, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  12. ↑ Toni Sailer again with a big lead . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 2, 1957, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
personal data
SURNAME Wheeler, Lucille
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ski racer
DATE OF BIRTH January 14, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint-Jovite , Quebec