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Skiing and sibling rivalry

Broadcast Date: Dec. 13, 1996

Before Nancy Greene skied her way into the record books, she was just an ambitious little girl in Rossland, B.C., fraught with sibling rivalry. "My sister, she was my first big rival," Greene explains in this Life & Times documentary. Nancy constantly pushed herself to be better and faster. Locals recalled her grit; Nancy was determined to chase and better her older sister's time. For spectators watching the sisters Greene, Nancy and Liz, it was always an exciting race to the finish line.

Skiing and sibling rivalry

• Nancy Catherine Greene was born in Ottawa on May 11, 1943, to parents Helen and Bob Greene. Lifelong skiing enthusiasts, Helen was a competitive racer in the 1940s and Bob helped construct the Red Mountain chairlift, one of the first lifts in Canada. After Nancy's second birthday, the family moved back to the B.C. Kootenays and settled the small town of Rossland. Here, Nancy quickly gained a reputation as a precocious tomboy.

• Nancy, the second of six children, strapped on her first pair of skis at age three. On the steep Red Mountain, the plucky young toddler made her way down the slopes with a rope fastened around her waist. Bob Greene held onto the other end of the rope and would rein young Nancy in when she took a clumsy tumble.

• "I guess I was always the daring aggressive kid in my crowd in Rossland," Greene recalled in Nancy Greene: An Autobiography (1971). "I was the girl who would always climb higher in the tree than the other kids and I would always take the wildest dares."

• In 1958, the Canadian Junior Championships were held in Rossland. Greene, an inexperienced racer, was asked to compete at the last minute as a replacement for an injured skier. Greene gave it her all and fell twice in the slalom. Despite her slips, Greene finished the race and placed third. She continued to defy others' expectations when she placed second in the downhill event; Liz Greene, Nancy's older sister, placed first. A friendly but keen rivalry between the two sisters was born.

• Nancy trained hard over the next two years, repeating run after run to build speed and stamina. In 1960, both Nancy and Liz secured spots on the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympic team. Nancy finished 22nd in the downhill, 26th in the giant slalom, 31st in the slalom; Liz placed 32nd in the downhill, 28th in the giant slalom, 24th in the slalom. While neither of the Greenes performed spectacularly, Nancy was inspired by her roommate, Anne Heggtveit, who won a gold medal for Canada in the slalom event.

Skiing and sibling rivalry

Medium: Television

Program: Life & Times

Broadcast Date: Dec. 13, 1996

Guest(s): Stan Fisher, Nancy Greene, Rick Greene, Booty Griffiths, Ted Reynolds

Narrator: Jerry Thompson

Duration: 5:06

Permission to use this clip is granted courtesy of Paperny Films.

Last updated:
Jan. 30, 2007