Fond memories

Press, 24 February 1988, Page 33

Fond memories

By

TIM DUNBAR

Steve Podborski, one of several sports personalities providing colour commentaries for C.T.V.’s Olympic coverage, still has fond memories of his trip to New Zealand with the Canadian men’s downhill team in 1979. One of the four “Crazy Canucks” that trained and raced at Mount Hutt that winter, Podborski went on to win an Olympic bronze medal at Lake Placid in 1980, and become the first North American to capture the World Cup men’s downhill title. Podborski said up at Nakiska yesterday that he regretted not being able to make another visit to New Zealand. “I kept on hurting myself and missing the summer training. “One of my dreams is to go back and check it out,” he said. And not necessarily just for ski-ing. “Ski-ing is a lot of fun, but it is only a part of any tour or

Podborski liked the unspoiled aspect of New Zealand. “It’s a beautiful country and hasn’t really been taken over like Europe. The people are just super, that’s what makes it special down there.” He remembers Methven as having “the highest per capita beer consumption in the world,” and felt the Canadians were even on the verge of being accepted in the bar unofficially reserved for locals. There was no downhill event possible in the F.I.S. series at Mount Hutt that winter, but Podborski did have a rare chance to race slalom, in a whiteout. He referred to it as “a little bit of carving left and right.” That year Podborski was just starting to get involved in ski-boot technology. “It was my first chance to use this new stuff and it made a difference,” he said.