As Canada prepares to watch its athletes go for gold at the Olympics in Vancouver starting on Feb. 12, the National Post looks back at the 39 gold medals the nation has won in Winter Games history.
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When we Owned the Podium: Nancy Greene
- February 27, 2010 6:31 PM |
- By John Shmuel
Story provided by
Name Nancy Greene
Olympics 1968 Grenoble, France
Event Women's giant slalom
The Setting France's Marielle Goitschel was the defending champion, but Nancy Greene was favoured to win gold, having won back-to-back World Cup titles and ending European domination in the sport.
On the day Goitschel had already bested Greene in the earlier slalom event, taking gold while reserving the Canadian to second place. The giant slalom would be nerve-racking for both competitors considered Goistschel was slotted to go down last.
Greene's performance after starting ninth surprised everyone. In a sport where winners are decided by a fraction of a second, the 22-year-old took the top spot from France's Annie Famose by almost three seconds.
Goistchel's run in comparison was relatively poor for the Frenchwoman, and she ended up placing seventh. Greene's impressive lead still stands as one of the largest winning margins in the giant slalom in Olympic history.
Afterlife Greene retired from competition in 1968 and began working with the the federal government. She was part of the Task Force on Sport For Canadians, which aimed to promote and develop sporting opportunities for Canadians. She also was the coach for the Canadian National Team from 1968 to 1973.
On Jan. 2, Greene took her seat as a Conservative member in Canada's Senate.
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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