Lucile Wheeler
| — Alpine skier ♀ — | |
| Disciplines |
Downhill, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Combined |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 14, 1935 Sainte-Jovite, Quebec, Canada |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 2 – (1952, 1956) |
| Medals | 1 (0 gold) |
| World Championships | |
| Teams | 5 – (1950, '52, '54, '56, '58) includes two Olympics |
| Medals | 4 (2 gold) |
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Medal record
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Lucile Wheeler, CM (born January 14, 1935) is a former alpine ski racer from Canada. She was a double world champion in 1958, the first North American to win a world title in the downhill event.
Wheeler was born in Quebec and grew up in the village of Sainte-Jovite in the Laurentian mountains. Her family was instrumental in promoting the sport of skiing and her grandfather George Wheeler built the famous Gray Rocks ski center at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. He had moved to Quebec from Chazy, New York in the late nineteenth century, hoping to make it rich in the lumber business, but was wiped out by a forest fire.
Taught to ski at the age of two, Wheeler's skills were such that she was soon competing against older ski racers. At age 10, she finished seventh in a downhill event at Mont Tremblant in a race that was open to participants of all ages. She won the Canadian junior ski championship in 1947 at age 12 and at 14 was selected to compete for Canada at the World Championships in 1950 in Aspen, Colorado, the first major alpine event held outside of Europe. However, her parents felt she was too young at age 15 to miss school and did not allow her to go.
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Wikipedia