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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2013.55.82 |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Anne Heggtveit Interview 2013 |
Scope & Content |
Anne Heggtveit interview, 2013. Digital MP4. Three videos with a total viewing time of 00:20:43. 1 of 3: 00:47Childhood: started skiing at about age 2 when her mother put her on skis made by her uncle on a backyard track 01:22Progressed to local park and little hills; age 3 joined Ottawa Ski Club, had to cross-country ski from the parking lot to the lifts 02:12 First race at age 6 in Ottawa, on narrow trails 02:41On the National Team: the real team started after her retirement; when she was skiing the team was brought together for a few months for the Olympics or World Championships and then dissolved, it was that way until 1959, after Lucille Wheeler had won her 2 medals in 1958 [at the World Championships] and proved you had to be in Europe every year to compete against the best if you were ever going to beat them, she had paid her own way; Anne was the beneficiary of that knowledge when the Canadian Ski Association brought together a team of young racers to go on the European circuit, that was a first 04:17Did you do any cross-country skiing: lots being done at the Ottawa Ski Club, talks about the midget event that involved cross-country, downhill, ski jumping and slalom and winning it, competed against the guys 05:00Her father introduced her to the alpine discipline, had a great influence on her career, recognized she was extremely competitive and channeled that energy into downhill and alpine racing 2 of 3; 00:09On the impact Lucille Wheeler had on her career: talks about a ski race in 1948 at Lake Placid where Lucille (age 11) was competing and Anne (age 7) was the forerunner, got to know her then; "about age 8 I decided I wanted to be Canada's first Gold medalist at the Olympics"; watched Lucille's career; at age 15 in 1954 was nominated to the World Championship team & Lucille was on the team, competed closely with her and judged her times against Lucille's, won the Holmenkollen race that year, attended the 1956 Olympic Winter Games where Lucille won the Bronze medal, that was a great inspiration "if she can do it, I can do it" 02:37Gold medal at the 1960 Olympics: in the slalom; felt it was the event she was going to do her best in, also the last event so it was the last chance to win, felt confident enough did not need the check the course the night before, on the morning of the race she followed the routine of climbing up the hill and memorizing the gates from the bottom up, by the time you get to the top you have run the course 57 times, that was enough 03:59Race consisted of 2 courses; the first course she liked, it required agility and short turns; the second course had longer, smooth turns, had such a large margin from the first run she was able to relax and not need to take any unnecessary chances 04:49On Nancy Greene being on the 1960 team: knew her but was focused on myself, "When you look back at the Canadian women skiers, we all overlapped. Lucille was on the team with me. Nancy was one after me and was on the team with me. Betsy Clifford was with Nancy. Each one of us made up a whole chain of Canadian skiing racers." 05:37Did you know you had won the Gold medal: it didn't take long to find out, was standing at the finish line, it was chaotic but fun 06:08On the ceremony: excited, very special moment, "from age 8 to 21 I had worked towards that goal." 06:38On the course conditions: they were beautifully prepared, not icy, the slalom setup with a lot of gates was a challenging course, the downhill was a smooth, open terrain, she was used to racing bumpy, chopped up courses, it was the forerunner of what was to come in the downhill 07:42On racing today: today the courses are icy and fast, have to hold the turn, she liked a course where you had to make a decision and think it out, today it's all out or nothing; the slalom has changed drastically with the breakaway pole, has become a more brutal type; in her day it was a little more graceful and smoother, today it's brute force 08:39On today's ski: been able to ski a lot longer on the shorter parabolic ski 09:05On being nervous: did not feel nervous at the time, more keyed up 09:40On retiring in 1960: had a goal of winning the first Olympic Gold in skiing and did it, end of an era, did some work and then married 10:19On receiving the Order of Canada: very special, "I won my medal for Canada so it was a very special honour for which I'm very proud and pleased to have received." 10:58On winning the Bobby Rosenfeld award: another very special award in her life, Canada's top female athlete, the only thing that surpassed that was the Lou Marsh award for Athlete of the Year which was also very special; the 2 awards she is pleased to have 12:00On standing on the podium: "it was exciting and exhilarating. That had been my goal from 8 to 21. To actually have achieved by dream made it extra special." 12:52On her mentors: her father, the other athletes like Lucille, the Wurtele twins, Gretchen Fraser and Andrea Mead Lawrence from the US, that challenge we could be as good as the Europeans 3 of 3: 00:11On retirement: it was difficult to end a career, who are you, today more opportunity for a good athlete to get involved with training, working with young people, working in their associations. |
Date |
2013/04/11 |
People |
Heggtveit, Anne Wheeler, Lucille Greene, Nancy |
Search Terms |
Anne Heggtveit Alpine skiing skiing women in sport interview 1960 Olympic Winter Games Squaw Valley 1960 World Championships |