- Nancy Greene
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Nancy Greene Senator from British Columbia Incumbent Assumed office
January 2, 2009[1]Personal details Born May 11, 1943
Ottawa, OntarioPolitical party Conservative Spouse(s) Al Raine Olympic medal record Women’s alpine skiing Competitor for Canada Gold 1968 Grenoble Giant slalom Silver 1968 Grenoble Slalom World Championships Gold 1968 Grenoble Combined Nancy Catherine Greene, OC, OBC, OD (born May 11, 1943) is a Canadian Senator for British Columbia and a champion alpine skier voted as Canada's Female Athlete of the 20th Century. She was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Contents
Biography
Nancy Greene moved with her family to Rossland, British Columbia, a mountainous area and the site of the first ski competition ever held in Canada in 1897. The child of avid skiers, Greene began at a young age and while in high school she competed in the Canadian Junior Championships. She would go on to become Canada's most decorated ski racer in history with the most World Cup victories, male or female.
Career
Nicknamed "Tiger" because of her 'go for it' attitude and her aggressive style of skiing, she won the Canadian ski championship nine times and the United States championship three times. In 1967, Nancy Greene broke the European domination of the sport, winning the inaugural World Cup. That year she won seven of 16 events, taking the over-all title with four giant slalom victories plus two in slalom and one in downhill. Her accomplishment earned her Canadian "Athlete of the Year" honours.
In 1968 she won the World Cup title again plus, at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France, she captured a gold medal in the giant slalom, by one of the largest margins in Olympic history, and a silver medal in the slalom. For the second time, she was named Canada's "Athlete of the Year."
Following her retirement from competition, she made a major contribution to Canadian sport by accepting an appointment to the federal Government's "Task Force on Sport For Canadians." During this period Greene also did promotional work for various companies including Rossignol, Pontiac and Mars Inc. In a 1970's television commercial for the latter product she was seen to discard the wrapper onto a ski slope in the course of consuming the product. This minor act, coming at a time of nascent environmental sentiment, appears to have entered the public memory as references to it have dogged her over the years.
Married with twin boys, Nancy Greene and her husband Al Raine were instrumental in the early development of the Whistler-Blackcomb Resort in Whistler, British Columbia, and then later in the development and promotion of skiing at Sun Peaks Resort, just north of Kamloops, British Columbia. The expansion of the resort was not without controversy as some Native groups opposed the move, and protesters occupying the new site were removed by arrest under a provincial injunction.[2] Nancy is Director of Skiing at Sun Peaks Resort and skis almost every day. Nancy and Al built Nancy Greene's Cahilty Lodge where they make their home. Dedicated to the promotion of her sport for more than 30 years, the Nancy Greene Ski League has been an important entry-level race program for young children.
Over the years, Nancy Greene has been the recipient of numerous awards including her country's highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada. She has been honoured with the naming of "Nancy Greene Provincial Park" and "Nancy Greene Lake" in the Monashee Mountains of British Columbia's Kootenay region. A stretch of Capilano Road in North Vancouver was renamed Nancy Greene Way. In 1999, her name was engraved in Canada's Walk of Fame and she was voted Canada's female athlete of the century in a survey of newspaper editors and broadcasters conducted by The Canadian Press and Broadcast News.
In 1990, Greene and husband Al Raine were encouraged by the BC provincial government to pursue development of a new ski resort in the Melvin Creek Valley, between Mount Currie and Lillooet, both predominantly Native communities. Perhaps coincidentally, the rough road accessing the area was paved and upgraded at this time by the government as an extension to highway 99, the main road from Vancouver to Pemberton. Despite opposition from Native groups,[3] backcountry recreationists, biologists, and environmental organizations,[4] the project received approval from BC's Environmental Assessment Office in 2000, but has been stalled in a series of protests and blockades since. It appears the project is on hold for the period leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In 1993, Greene announced her support for the right-wing Reform Party of Canada.[5]
In April 2005, Ms Greene Raine was named Chancellor of Thompson Rivers University.
On January 2, 2009, Greene took her seat as a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada.
She was named Olympic Ambassador for the 2010 Vancouver games. On February 12, 2010 Nancy Greene lit the Vancouver Olympic cauldron along with fellow Canadian sport icons Steve Nash, Rick Hansen, Catriona Le May Doan and Wayne Gretzky.
Major Awards
- National ski team member, 1959 to 1968
- Six-time Canadian champion
- Three-time United States champion
- Word championship team member, 1962, 1966
- World Cup women's champion 1967, 1968
- Olympic team member, 1960, 1964, 1968
- 1968 Winter Olympics gold medal (giant slalom) and silver medal (slalom)
- Coach of the Canadian ski team, 1968 to 1973
- Officer of the Order of Canada (Canada’s highest civilian honour)
- Order of British Columbia (British Columbia's highest citizen award)
- Order of the Dogwood (British Columbia's highest civilian award)
- Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Outstanding Athlete of the Year, 1967, 1968
- B'nai B'rith woman of 1968
- British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame
- Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
- United States National Ski Hall of Fame
- Canada's Walk of Fame
- Canada's Female Athlete of the 20th Century
- Olympic torch relay 2010, Kamloops BC
- Star of "Frozen" 2010
- Queen Of Sun Peaks Resort, Kamloops, BC
- Awarded "Order of the Phoenix" (France)
- Awarded "Merit of St. Ambrose" (Italy)
See also
External links
- Official site: Nancy Greene
- Nancy Greene's Cahilty Lodge at Sun Peaks
- CBC Digital Archives - Ski Queen Nancy Greene
- Profile at ski-db
References
- ^ "Senate of Canada: List of Senators". 2009-12-16. http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/senmemb/senate/isenator.asp?sortord=P&Language=E. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=359
- ^ http://www.mail-archive.com/natnews-north@yahoogroups.com/msg01407.html
- ^ http://www.vcn.bc.ca/spec/spec/melvin/
- ^ "Olympic star Nancy Greene backs Reform," Ottawa Citizen, 15 September 1993, A4.
Awards and achievements Preceded by
Elaine TannerLou Marsh Trophy winner
1967, 1968Succeeded by
Russ JacksonOlympic Games Preceded by
Stefania BelmondoFinal Winter Olympic Torchbearer
with Catriona LeMay Doan, Steve Nash, and Wayne Gretzky
Vancouver 2010Succeeded by
TBA 2014Academic offices Preceded by
New positionChancellor of Thompson Rivers University
2005–presentIncumbent Olympic Champions in Women's Giant Slalom 1952: Andrea Mead-Lawrence | 1956: Ossi Reichert | 1960: Yvonne Rüegg | 1964: Marielle Goitschel | 1968: Nancy Greene | 1972: Marie-Theres Nadig | 1976: Kathy Kreiner | 1980: Hanni Wenzel | 1984: Debbie Armstrong | 1988: Vreni Schneider | 1992: Pernilla Wiberg | 1994: Deborah Compagnoni | 1998: Deborah Compagnoni | 2002: Janica Kostelić | 2006: Julia Mancuso | 2010: Viktoria Rebensburg1932: Rösli Streiff | 1933: Inge Wersin-Lantschner | 1934: Christl Cranz | 1935: Christl Cranz | 1936: Evelyn Pinching | 1937: Christl Cranz | 1938: Christl Cranz | 1939: Christl Cranz | 1948: Trude Beiser | 1954: Ida Schöpfer | 1956: Madeleine Berthod | 1958: Frieda Dänzer | 1960: Anne Heggtveit | 1962: Marielle Goitschel | 1964: Marielle Goitschel | 1966: Marielle Goitschel | 1968: Nancy Greene | 1970: Michèle Jacot | 1972: Annemarie Pröll | 1974: Fabienne Serrat | 1976: Rosi Mittermaier | 1978: Annemarie Moser-Pröll | 1980: Hanni Wenzel | 1982: Erika Hess | 1985: Erika Hess | 1987: Erika Hess | 1989: Tamara McKinney | 1991: Chantal Bournissen | 1993: Miriam Vogt | 1996: Pernilla Wiberg | 1997: Renate Götschl | 1999: Pernilla Wiberg | 2001: Martina Ertl | 2003: Janica Kostelić | 2005: Janica Kostelić | 2007: Anja Pärson | 2009: Kathrin Zettel | 2011: Anna FenningerCurrent members of the Senate of Canada AB BC MB NB Day • Kinsella • Losier-Cool • Lovelace Nicholas • Mockler • Poirier • Ringuette • Robichaud • Stewart-Olsen • WallaceNL NS ON PE QC SK Territories NTNUYTConservative (C) • Independent (Ind.) or Not affiliated (N/A) • Liberal (L) • Progressive Conservative (PC) Chair Vice Chair Lillian Eva DyckMembers Patrick Brazeau · Larry W. Campbell · Romeo Dallaire · Jacques Demers · Sandra Lovelace Nicholas · Dennis Patterson · Rose-May Poirier · Nancy Greene Raine · Nick Sibbeston · Carolyn Stewart-Olsen
Categories:- 1943 births
- Living people
- Canadian female alpine skiers
- Lou Marsh Trophy winners
- Olympic alpine skiers of Canada
- Olympic gold medalists for Canada
- Alpine skiers at the 1968 Winter Olympics
- Officers of the Order of Canada
- Members of the Order of British Columbia
- Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inductees
- Canadian university and college chancellors
- Sportspeople from British Columbia
- People from Rossland, British Columbia
- Sportspeople from Ottawa
- People from Ottawa
- Canadian senators from British Columbia
- Conservative Party of Canada senators
- Canadian women senators
- Women in British Columbia politics
- Olympic medalists in alpine skiing
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