Alpine Canada

Twenty years after she became the first Canadian to win downhill Olympic gold, Kerrin Lee-Gartner’s medal was back on display last week — hanging proudly from the necks of young ski racers at Georgian Peaks in Ontario.

Lee-Gartner shared her little piece of history with the next generation at an event held on Thursday, one day after the 20th anniversary of the magical moment when she triumphed in Meribel, France, at the 1992 Albertville Games.

The iconic medal — still the only downhill Olympic gold won by a Canadian — was passed from child to child Thursday as Lee-Gartner reflected on her own memories of wearing ski legend Nancy Greene’s medals as a child growing up in Rossland, B.C.

“Hopefully it will influence them to follow their dreams,” Lee-Gartner said from Toronto, Ont., where she was working on CBC’s coverage of alpine skiing last weekend.

“I have not worn the medal since that day in 1992 but I love putting it around other people’s necks. To me, that gold medal isn’t about ski racing. It’s about dreaming big.”

Lee-Gartner was not one of the favourites to tame the track in Meribel, one of the most difficult courses ever built for a women’s downhill. She had been on the podium before but had never won a World Cup race.

“I was a contender. I had been in the top three in every section of the course in training,” said Lee-Gartner. “I didn’t want to win a training run so I focused on specific parts of the course each day.

“I wasn’t nervous, which kind of surprised me, but I do remember 30 seconds before it was time to go. All of a sudden my stomach was full of nerves. It was not all smooth anymore. I looked at the start coach and said, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m nervous.’ I was being totally honest with what I was saying. He put his head back and he started laughing and he said, ‘Of course you are nervous — it’s the most important race of your life.’ And then … I put my poles in and went.”

Despite the fact she wasn’t favoured by those outside her team, Lee-Gartner had a lot of faith in her ability.

“I was 100 percent going for gold,” said Lee-Gartner, a resident of Calgary, Alta. “Since I was a little tiny girl, in my mind I was going to win the Olympics.

“It almost seems foolish or arrogant or cocky or rude. But it was this naïve innocence that I had as a little girl. I can’t remember how many times I asked my Magic 8-Ball if I could win the Olympics. Sometimes it said no but I was very stubborn so I would shake it until it said, ‘Of course you will.’ ”

Lee-Gartner’s dazzling run wasn’t totally flawless but it epitomized the courage and determination that had become synonymous with the men’s team — the Crazy Canucks.

“The run itself was all autopilot. There was one moment when my ski went out to the side,” she recalled. “I was thinking, ‘That was pretty good,’ just as I was crossing the line. Then the No. 1 flashed up. I ran 12th and I never thought someone would (go faster). Once I saw that No. 1 that belief system took over.

“Everything fell into place like it’s supposed to. You train for so many years … and that day was perfection.”

Canada has come close to emulating Lee-Gartner’s downhill gold, with Ed Podivinsky claiming bronze in 1994 and the likes of Kate Pace, Britt Janyk and current Canadian Alpine Ski Team member Erik Guay finishing just off the podium at subsequent Olympic Games. Lee-Gartner is surprised she’s still the only Canadian to claim the glamour discipline’s biggest prize.

“I was pretty confident that one of the Canadian Cowboys would do it in Vancouver,” she said of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. “But that’s what’s so hard about downhill. It’s (so competitive) and there’s one race every four years.”

With Janyk retiring at the end of last season and Kelly VanderBeek and Larisa Yurkiw battling back following long-term leg injuries, Canada might not be ready to push for the podium in this weekend’s World Cup race in Sochi, Russia, but it might be a different story by the time 2014 rolls around.

“As far as the women go, right now there’s not very many doing downhill. It just magnifies how small the Canadian team is,” Lee-Gartner said. “But both Larisa and Kelly have what it takes to win.”

Lee-Gartner recently worked as a guest coach at a “speed skills camp” in Apex, B.C., as part of the Osisko Going4Gold Program, which aims to teach young racers the skills of downhill and super-G racing in a safe and methodical way.

“I was a big advocate of doing something to make it safe for skiers. I totally embrace the idea of teaching the skill-set,” said Lee-Gartner, whose husband Max is her former coach and the current president of Alpine Canada. “The camp in Apex was a big success. We had over 80 kids. There’s so much talent at the next level.”

Although winning Olympic gold was a life-changing moment for Lee-Gartner, she’s managed to keep what she achieved in 1992 in perspective.

“That is what I did but it didn’t define who I am,” Lee-Gartner said. “The one part of that medal that is me is that I’m totally a dreamer, a believer in many things. The medal doesn’t define me but it was a dream come true, kind of like a Cinderella story.”