Laurie Kreiner

Two-time Olympian Laurie Kreiner was born into a family with a deep passion for skiing in many forms. 

In the 1960s, the Kreiner family invested in developing the Timmins Ski Club in Northern Ontario. The older sister to 1976 Olympic champion Kathy, Laurie Kreiner blazed a trail, committing to the rigors of ski racing from an early age, eventually competing in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, and in the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

During the early years of skiing, Laurie spent many days helping her Dad and family manage the ski area, everything from cutting new runs, equipment maintenance and cleaning the outhouses and other volunteer work.

By the age of 13 Laurie qualified for the Canadian alpine championships in Thunder Bay and by the age of 14 made the trek west to join a new program at the Kokanee Glaciers, near Nelson, BC, an initiative which eventually sparked the creation of the national ski team. While at this camp ski racers, like the Kreiner sisters, learned the value and reward of hard work when coach Dave Jacobs introduced high-intensity dryland training, hard work and long days hiking in and out of the glacier training site.

It was a turning point for the Kreiner sisters who impressed coaches and teammates with their tenacity and work ethic.

Laurie’s career progressed rapidly, culminating in a heartbreaking fourth place finish in the Sapporo Games, a mere 0.13 off the podium. She finished in the top 10 in World Cup races on multiple occasions (10 times) in giant slalom, slalom and downhill, and finished fourth and fifth in back-to-back downhill races in Pfronten, Germany, in 1973.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• 1971 – 10th DH, World Cup, Sestriere, Italy
• 1972 – 4th GS, 12th SL Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan
• 1972 – 6th DH, World Cup, Crystal Mountain, WA, USA
• 1972 – 6th GS, World Cup, Banff, AB, Canada
• 1973 – 6th SL  World Cup, St. Gervais, FRA
• 1973 – 4th DH, World Cup, Pfronten, Germany
• 1973 – 5th DH, World Cup, Pfronten, Germany
• 1976 – 14th SL, Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria
• 1976 – 7th Combined, FIS World Ski Championships, Innsbruck, Austria
• 1974 – 10th SL, World Cup, Bad Gastein, Austria

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.