Linda Crutchfield

Linda Crutchfield, a virtually unknown at the time, suddenly emerged at the national level as an accomplished competitor. In 1960, she was
added to the Canadian team for the 1960 Squaw Valley, U.S.A., Winter Olympic Games as an alternate to Anne Heggtveit.

Winning the Ryan Cup that year confirmed her ability and subsequent inclusion on the Canadian Women’s team. In the following year, 1961,
competing at the international level, she placed 11th in the notorious Hahnenkamm Downhill race at Kitzbuhel, Austria, then and still the
toughest course in Europe. This was the test that proved her ability to ski with the best in the world. She had a natural ability and determination that overcame a lack of experience in this young competitor.

She followed the European circuit in 1962 under Pepi Salvenmoser and competed in the World Ski Championships at Chamonix. At Ceppa Grizcha she took 2nd place in the Downhill. On her return to Canada, she won the Quebec Kandahar and with other top finishes she had the
most F.I.S. points of the Canadian women’s team at the start of the 1963 season.

The C.A.S.A. recognized, not only her competitive ability, but a quality that was even more important, leadership. In 1964 as team captain,
leading a very talented and enthusiastic group of young competitors including Nancy Greene, she set high standards, both on and off the
competitive slopes.

She drove the team across Europe in a van she purchased rather than spend their limited funds on formal transportation. She held the team
together in that year of the Innsbruck, Austria, Winter Olympic Games. Her final triumph before retiring from international competition came
in 1964 when she won the Canadian Downhill and Combined Championships.

Her love of sport for sport’s sake was matched only by her acceptance of new challenges. Not content with being the Canadian’s best woman
skier, she later represented her country at Winter Olympic competition in the luge, and then became its finest water skier. She is truly one of
Canada’s great athletes. She reached the top with no other objective than to experience the sheer joy of sport.

Please Note: The ski information gathered here is compiled from a number of sources; it may not be inclusive of all accomplishments.
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