Ken Learn, 1975 La Compression d’Isère Downhill: Photograph courtesy Ken Learn
A Morning That Felt Totally different
December 7, 1975 – Val d’Isère, France. Critérium de la Première Neige, opening downhill of an Olympic winter.
That crisp, clear December morning on the higher slopes of La Daille is etched in my reminiscence. It felt completely different. The nice and cozy-up turns in my pre-race preparation linked effortlessly, and your entire routine had a snug readability.
My normal routine, beginning slowly and amping up the pace with every coaching run, was behind me. However this wasn’t simply any race day. After a rookie 12 months ranging from bibs within the 40s and 50s, I used to be now within the first seed—the highest 15.
A number of weeks earlier, I’d joked with our head coach, Scott Henderson: “What if I draw bib No. 1?” The night time earlier than the race, he walked into our room (I used to be bunking with Dave Irwin), tossed the bibs over and stated with a smile: “You bought the quantity you hoped for.”
An Intimidating Venue
In our period, Val d’Isère was intimidating. This was the Critérium de la Première Neige on the “Oreiller-Killy” observe, honoring two nice French ski racers—the primary downhill of the season, the normal opener. Two days earlier, Olympic silver medalist and two-time World Cup downhill champion Roland Collombin had crashed in coaching, ending his profession. French skier Michel Dujon had tragically died in a ski testing accident. Rigidity was excessive.
My normal routine—beginning slowly and amping up the pace with every coaching run—was behind me. However this wasn’t simply any race day. After a rookie 12 months ranging from bibs within the 40s and 50s, I used to be now within the first seed—the highest 15.
A number of weeks earlier, I’d joked with our head coach, Scott Henderson: “What if I draw bib No. 1?” The night time earlier than the race, he walked into our room (I used to be bunking with Dave Irwin), tossed the bibs over and stated with a smile: “You bought the quantity you hoped for.”
In hindsight, beginning first was a blessing: no strains to comply with, no distractions—only a deal with gliding, leaping, and holding pace over the collection of treacherous jumps.
A Run to Keep in mind
I left the beginning with one aim: to stream with the observe. Down the “Mur du Départ” at 130 km/h, launching off the newly named “Bosse à Collombin”—a tough smack—reset shortly, then discover the rhythm: tower turns, into the meadow the place the trick was to stream with the terrain, not the gates. Over the “Bosse à Tunnel,” accelerating as much as 140 km/h and sweeping into “La Compression,” requiring whole dedication and on the spot adjustment. I flew 30 meters and charged into the “Schuss d’arrivée” and throughout the end line. Clear.
Time: 2:04.97—two full seconds quicker than the highest coaching instances all week. Racing with bib No. 1, I used to be alone within the end.
Now, I used to be the goal.
Setting a New Customary
I had just one 12 months of expertise below my belt—a grand whole of 10 downhill races on the World Cup. So expectations had been low. No Canadian male had ever stood on a World Cup podium. None had claimed victory in any self-discipline. That made profitable really feel much more unbelievable.
The problem was on. Dave Irwin, beginning fourth, got here shut—0.88 seconds again. Swiss world champion Bernhard Russi seemed harmful however clocked in 0.65 seconds behind. Italian Herbert Plank squeaked forward of Russi.
All eyes had been then on bib 14: Austrian Franz Klammer to set the world proper. By means of the splits, Klammer fell behind. By means of the ultimate interval, he had narrowed the deficit, however solely 200 meters from the end, the tough terrain of the Schuss d’arrivée caught the “Kaiser” unawares and he crashed.
My preliminary response was elation, swiftly tempered by concern for Franz, because it was a horrific crash. Thankfully, there was no seen damage. Franz discovered me shortly within the end space and shook my hand.
And that’s when it sank in: we had gained!
The Arrival of the Loopy Canucks
This wasn’t only a victory. It was a breakthrough—the primary World Cup win by a Canadian male in any sport. 5 Canadians had been within the prime 13 that day. Simply two weeks later, Dave Irwin would win in Schladming, and as soon as once more, there have been 5 Canadians within the prime 15.
The “Loopy Canucks” had arrived.
The European ski institution was reeling. Malcolm Milne of Australia had been the one non-European to win a downhill—and he skilled with the French ski staff. December 1975 was the primary time “outsiders” had upset the ski racing order.
A Legacy Begins
With 50 years of hindsight, we now know this was a seminal second in Canadian sport. Successful was now a risk for each men and women—in any winter sport. In 1975, that mindset didn’t exist. Canadian sport packages lacked the assets and technical management to even take into account competing with the perfect.
It took braveness for Scott Henderson to focus our assets on pace. He acknowledged the potential—and the chance to interrupt the sample of mediocrity.
As a bunch, we dedicated to the self-discipline of “staff.” Our coaches and athletes labored collectively to beat the gaps we confronted in gear, fits, coaching venue entry, residing out of a suitcase, and the absence of a house World Cup occasion. This was our spirit of “staff.”
Actually, any considered one of us may have been the primary. Historical past has confirmed this. Inside 36 months, each Loopy Canuck had gained or reached the rostrum. The ultimate tally over 9 seasons was 46 podiums, together with 16 wins. The brand new mindset turned entrenched.
From Then to Now
Again in 1975, our mother and father listened to the radio early weekend mornings for updates from CBC World Report. That day in Val d’Isère additionally marked the primary project of Sport Canada’s new Athlete Info Bureau—sending journalists on-site to main worldwide occasions.
Over the previous 50 years, a number of generations of Canadian skiers have left their mark on our sport, proving that Canadians will be winners.
Sustaining the Momentum
Nevertheless, preserving this legacy requires a steady funding in centralized athlete improvement. Monetary help should be secured, particularly with rising prices for coaching entry. We additionally have to rebuild home World Cup venues. Simply as necessary, we should draw on the deep company reminiscence of Canadian alpine ski racing—harnessing our collective expertise, our human assets, and the unwavering ardour of the ski group.
On the floor, ski racing is easy: a begin, a end, and the quickest between the 2. However it’s also the toughest sport to achieve—tremendously aggressive, consistently altering, formed by misleading snow circumstances, and rooted in a profoundly Eurocentric atmosphere.
We rise to those challenges—not as a result of they’re simple, however as a result of they’re onerous. And that makes each success even sweeter.
