Heggtveit, Anne (1939—)

First Canadian skier to win an Olympic medal. Name variations: Anne Heggtveit-Hamilton. Born on January 11, 1939; grew up in Ottawa; daughter of Dr. Halvor Heggtveit (who qualified for Canada's 1932 Olympic ski team but did not compete); married.

Won the combined title at the Aalberg-Kandahar (1959); won an Olympic gold medal in the slalom (1960).

On skis by age two, Anne Heggtveit trained under Canada's skiing champion Ernie McCulloch. She then went on to train under Pepi Salven-moser. Heggtveit came to international attention when, at age 15, she won the 1954 Holmenkollen Giant Slalom event in Norway, the youngest winner in the event's 50-year history. In 1956, she missed the Olympic games at Cortina because of a broken leg that was slow to mend, and in early 1960 someone accidentally stabbed her leg with a snow shovel at a European meet, forcing another layoff. But Heggtveit, now an Ottawa secretary, was ready by the time Squaw Valley held the 1960 Olympics, during which she roomed with Nancy Greene . Heggtveit finished a distant 12th in the first two races, the downhill and the giant slalom. On her first run of the slalom, however, she finished in 54.0, two seconds ahead of Marianne Jahn from Austria. On the second run, Jahn fell, clearing the way for Heggveit's gold medal after a safe, sure run. Heggveit was the first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal in skiing. Betsy Snite of the U.S. placed 2nd, followed by Barbara Henneberger of Germany. Soon after, Heggtveit retired from skiing to raise a family.

sources:

Batten, Jack. Champions: Great Figures in Canadian Sport. Toronto: New Press, 1971.