In
1975, no
North American had ever won an
alpine skiing World Cup event. The Crazy Canucks, as the top skiers of the
Canadian Alpine Ski Team were known, would change all that. They were:
Ken Read,
Steve Podborski,
Dave Irwin, and
Dave Murray.
Without the coaching and resources to challenge the technical events, the Canucks focused on the high profile Downhill event. Ken Read was the first, with a win at the first race of the season at Val d'Isere on December 7th, 1975. Next David Irwin won at Schladming, Austria, on December 20th. From there, the Canadians were competitive in the Downhill, culminating in 1982, when Steve Podborski, became the first non-European to win the World Cup Downhill title.
Podborski remains Canada's best skier ever, with 8 downhill wins including two on the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel and three at Garmisch.