Hall of Famer
Anne Heggtveit – Hamilton
Affiliated Discipline(s):
Alpine
Hometown:
Ottawa, ON / Vermont, USA
Active Career Period:
1948-1962
Induction CSHF:
1982
Induction Category:
Alpine: Slalom, Giant Slalom, Downhill
Anne Heggtveit first stepped into a pair of skis at the age of 2 and won her first race at the age of 7 when she won the Ladies Senior Slalom and Combined events at Wakefield, Quebec on 6 January 1947. In the same year and in 1948 and ’49, she acted as a forerunner for the Ladies’ International Downhill and Slalom events at Lake Placid, New York State. Short one of ten people required for the Canadian National team, she was invited to join the team at the age of 9, an extraordinary experience for one so young.
In 1960, she also became the first Canadian to win a Gold Medal in Slalom at the 8th Olympic Winter Games held at Squaw Valley, California, USA. At the same time, she also won the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) Gold Medal for Slalom as well an FIS Gold Medal for the Alpine Combined events (a 12th place in Downhill and 12th place in Giant Slalom). This was another milestone for women’s skiing in Canada as she was the first non-European to win an FIS Gold Medal for World Alpine Combined and the Arlberg Kandahar. In winning the Olympic Slalom event, she had the largest winning margin ever recorded in women’s Olympic or World Slalom competition, 3.3 seconds over the Silver Medal winner (Betsy Snite, USA) and a full 7 seconds over the Bronze Medalist (Barbi Henneberger, the top European).
Competitive Career Highlights
March 1948
2nd place finish in Ladies’ Slalom at the Central Canadian Championships.
February 1949
1st place finish in the Junior Ladies’ Slalom and Combined Championship at Huntsville, Ontario.
February 1951
1st place finish in the Ladies’ Junior “C” Class in the Taschereau (Quebec) Downhill event.
February 1951
At the age of 12, she placed 6th in Downhill, 5th in Slalom and 6th in Combined at the United States National Championships.
1952
January – 1st place finish in the Ladies’ Junior Class “B” at the Taschereau (Quebec) Downhill event.
February – 1st place finish Ontario Ladies’ Junior Downhill, Slalom and Combined events, Sudbury, Ontario.
February – 1st place finish Ottawa Ski Club Senior Ladies Downhill, Slalom and Combined events, Ottawa, Ontario at age 13.
1953
February – 1st place finish Ladies Junior “B” Combined event, Lac Beauport, Quebec.
March – 1st place finish Canadian Junior Downhill, Slalom and Combined titles, Fort William, Ontario.
March – As a Junior competitor, tied the winner of the Ladies’ Senior Class “A” in a combined Slalom and Giant Slalom, St. Sauveur, Quebec.
1954
At 15 years of age after competing in a number of preliminary international races in Europe, Anne Heggtveit astounded the ski world by winning the Giant Slalom race at the Holmenkollen meet in Norway. She went on to place 9th in Downhill, 7th in Slalom in the World Championships, Aare, Sweden, and at Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, she placed 17th in Downhill and 5th in Slalom.
1956
Competed with the Canadian National Women’s Team at the Winter Olympic Games held at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy placing 15th in the Combined and was still suffering from the effects of a broken leg suffered at Mont Tremblant, Quebec the previous January. A short while later, she was the top North American finisher at the Arlberg-Kandahar races, Sestrieres, Italy, when she placed 9th.
1958
3rd place finish Saalfelden (Austria) International Giant Slalom.
8th place finish, Slalom event, FIS World Championships, Bad Gastein, Austria.
7th place finish, Downhill event, FIS World Championships, Bad Gastein, Austria.
15th place finish, Giant Slalom event, FIS World Championships, Bad Gastein, Austria.
6th place finish. Alpine Combined events, FIS World Championships, Bad Gastein, Austria.
6th place finish, Arlberg-Kandahar Alpine Combined events, St. Anton, Austria.
4th place finish Downhill events, 3rd place Slalom, and 3rd place Alpine Combined, Holmenkollen, Norway.
1959
1st place finish in Slalom, 4th in Downhill, 1st in Alpine Combined, St. Moritz, Switzerland.
3rd place finish, Downhill, 2nd Slalom, 1st Alpine Combined, Arlberg- Kandahar, Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany.
1st place finishes in Downhill and Slalom, Quebec-Kandahar, Mont Tremblant Quebec.
1st place finishes in Downhill and Slalom, Canadian National Championships, Mont Orford, Quebec.
1960
1st place finishes in Slalom and Giant Slalom events, United States National Championships, Alta, Utah.
1st place finishes in Slalom, Giant Slalom and Alpine Combined events, Roch Cup, Aspen, Colorado.
Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s Outstanding Athlete.
1976
Named Member, Order of Canada (C.M.)
Please Note: The ski information gathered here is compiled from a number of sources; it may not be inclusive of all accomplishments.
Copyright © 2021, Canadian Ski Museum. For Personal/Educational use only. All Rights Reserved.
c. 1947. Anne Heggtveit possibly at Kate Smith Trophy race. CSHFM Collection.
c. 1947. Photo of Anne Heggtveit possibly at the Kate Smith Trophy Race. CSHFM Collection.
Anne Heggtveit c. 1947. CSHFM Collection.
Art Tommy (far right) and Anne Heggtveit (2nd from left). CSHFM Collection.
1958 World Championships [L to R]: Anne Heggtveit, Pepi Salvenmoser, Lucile Wheeler. Photo Gastuna Badgastein.
Gold medallist Anne Heggtveit attending reception in Ottawa, ON, following the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympic Winter Games. Photo Ted Grant.
Anne Heggtveit receiving Life Membership from Ottawa Ski Club (OSC) President McHugh on February 22 (?), 1955. CSHFM Collection.
![Members of Canadian Ski Team [L to R]: Bill Stevens, Ernie McCullogh, Art Tommy, Pat Ramage (manager), Anne Heggtveit, Peter Kirby c. 1954](https://skimuseum.ca/app/uploads/2020/09/sm_75-5-1-3_PatRamage_CREDIT_TRANS-CANADA-AIRLINES-194x300.jpg)
1954 Canadian Alpine ski team [L to R]: Pepi Salvenmoser (coach), Peter Kirby, Lucile Wheeler, Ernie McCullogh, Anne Heggtveit, Pat Ramage (manager), Bill Stevens & Art Tommy. The sign in the background reads “Welcome to Hotel Grannen” where the team stayed during the FIS World Championships, Are, Sweden. Gillsater R. Portage.
[L to R]: Anne Heggtveit, unidentified member of press, Lucile Wheeler, Pat Ramage. Alpine Canada Alpin.
Official opening of the Canadian Ski Museum on Sparks Street, Ottawa, ON, May 10, 1971 [L to R]: Jackrabbit, Lucile Wheeler, Anne Heggtveit, Betsy Clifford. Dominion Wide Photos.
National Alpine Ski Team at 1958 World Championships in Badgastein, Austria. Pictured are Anne Heggtveit (2nd from left) and John Semmelink (left). Photo Gastuna Badgastein.
1990 Canadian Ski Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony [top row, L to R]: Joan Earl, Kaye Vaughn, Pepi Salvenmoser, Ross Hamilton. [bottom row, L to R]: Pat Ramage, Anne Heggtveit-Hamilton, Lucile Wheeler-Vaughn, Cristl Salvenmoser. CSHFM Collection.
1990 Canadian Ski Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony [L to R]: Anne Heggtveit, Pepi Salvenmoser, Lucile Wheeler. CSHFM Collection.
Anne Heggtveit (left) at 2007 Canadian Ski Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Valberg Imaging – Andrea Cardin.
Anne Heggtveit and Keith Nesbitt at 2007 Canadian Ski Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Valberg Imaging – Andrea Cardin.
Alpine Canada Alpin 100 Year Episode 1 | AlpineCanadaAlpin
To celebrate our 100th anniversary, we’re exploring the most iconic moments in Canadian ski history. In episode one, we spotlight Lucile Wheeler, Anne Heggtveit and Nancy Greene – three women who helped pave the path for generations of Canadian skiers and who made their own World Championship history.
KINE 1243- Anne Heggtveit - Her life story
A video about her life and career
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