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Skier Ken Read triumphs in Europe

Broadcast Date: Dec. 7, 1985

It's a stunning victory for Canadian downhill skier Ken Read. On a mountain in Val d'Isère, France, Read cruises into the top spot at a World Cup race. With a time of 2:04:97, Read shows the Europeans that a new force in alpine skiing has arrived. In this CBC television clip, Read flashes back to the day he and his band of fellow skiers – later dubbed the "Crazy Canucks" – became world-class competitors.

Skier Ken Read triumphs in Europe

• Ken Read was the first non-European male to win a World Cup downhill race.
• Though Read was a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, he grew up and trained in Calgary and Vancouver and raced as a Canadian.
• Three of Read's teammates also placed in the top ten at the race: Dave Irwin, Jim Hunter and Steve Podborski. According to the Globe and Mail, four heavily favoured Europeans fell on the course, making way for the Canadians.

• The Globe and Mail also seemed to attribute Read's victory to the absence that day of the "powerful" French team. A French competitor had died in an accident and his teammates withdrew from the race out of respect.
• "I had a super run," Read told a reporter after the race. "I had a hairy moment when I went round the compression on one ski but I was always in control."

• Read had hoped for third or fourth at best. "I knew I was going well but I still expected to be beaten by [Franz] Klammer and Bernhard Russi," he told the Globe and Mail.
• Two weeks later, fellow Canadian Dave Irwin beat Franz Klammer, the reigning champion from Austria. Irwin won by 1.6 seconds, a huge margin in a ski race. The win proved that Read's victory was no fluke: there was an entire team of Canucks on the loose.

• Some years later, Read and three of his fellow Canadian skiers would be collectively known as the "Crazy Canucks."
• The other three were Dave Irwin, Steve Podborski and Dave Murray.
• "Jungle" Jim Hunter was the sometimes fifth Crazy Canuck. He was a leading skier for the Canadian team in the early years but had already peaked when his teammates were just hitting their stride.

• The name "Crazy Canucks" came from a European journalist. According to Read, a headline in a newspaper read "The Canucks: They ski like crazy." The name stuck, accurately representing this daring Canadian team.
• For more on this kamikaze team, see the CBC Archives topic Crazy Canucks: Canada's Skiing Heroes.

Also on December 7:
• 1876: The Canadian steamship Northern Light begins the first regular service from Prince Edward Island to the mainland.
• 1983: Canadian sprinter Harry Jerome dies at 42. He was the first man to hold both the world 100-yard and 100-metre records.
• 1995: British Columbia's NDP government becomes the first in Canada to order automakers to produce less-polluting vehicles.

Skier Ken Read triumphs in Europe

Medium: Television

Program: Newscentre

Broadcast Date: Dec. 7, 1985

Guest(s): Ken Read

Host: Brian Williams

Duration: 0:37

Footage courtesy of the International Ski Federation.

Last updated:
Dec. 7, 2011