Lucille Wheeler
Encyclopedia
Lucille Wheeler, CM
(born January 14, 1935) is a Canadian former Alpine skiing
world champion. She was born in Montreal, Quebec.
, 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. Taught to ski at the age of two, Lucile Wheeler's skills were such that she was soon competing against older skiers. At age 10, she finished seventh in a downhill ski event at Mont Tremblant in a race that was open to participants of all ages. By age 12, she had won the Canadian junior ski championship and at 14 was selected to compete for Canada at the 1950 World Championships in Aspen
, Colorado
. However, her parents felt she was too young at age 15 to miss school and did not allow her to go.
The early 1950s was still a time when resources for Canadian skiers were extremely limited. There was very little in the way of government funding to cover expenses for skiers wishing to compete on the world stage or to pay for professional training. Recognizing their daughter's gifts, her parents bore the expense for her to spend several winters training in Kitzbühel, Austria
. It paid off when she became the first North America
n Olympic medalist in the downhill
in alpine skiing
, winning the bronze at the 1956 Winter Olympics
in Cortina d'Ampezzo
, Italy
. She followed this with a spectacular performance at the 1958 World Championships
in Bad Gastein
, Austria
, where she won both the downhill
and the giant slalom
and came very close to winning the combined
title, taking the silver.
Wheeler was voted the Lou Marsh Trophy
as Canada's most outstanding athlete of 1958 and was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1976, she was made a member of the Order of Canada
, her country's highest civilian honor, and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Following her retirement from competitive racing in 1959, Wheeler, along with Réal Charette, was a ski instructor in a film made at the Banff
ski resort that won the American Library Association
's award as the best educational sports film of 1960. A few years later, she married CFL
Hall of Fame player Kaye Vaughan
. For a time the couple lived in Ottawa, but in 1967 they moved to the village of Knowlton, Quebec, in the heart of a ski area known as the Eastern Townships
. The mother of two children, at the high school in the nearby town of Cowansville
Lucile Wheeler-Vaughan organized a ski program, introducing 14-and-under children to the sport.
Wheeler's breakthrough performance resulted in an increase in government funding that enabled other Canadian skiers to compete at the international level. Her achievements were also instrumental in increasing the popularity of the sport both nationwide and in her native Quebec where what was once a remote destination in the Laurentian mountains for only a limited few became a thriving ski area with an abundance of quality facilities that attracts hundreds of thousands of skiers every winter.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born January 14, 1935) is a Canadian former Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
world champion. She was born in Montreal, Quebec.
Biography
Wheeler grew up in the village of Sainte-Jovite, QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, in the Laurentian mountains
Laurentian mountains
The Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...
. Her family was instrumental in promoting the sport of skiing and her grandfather George Wheeler built the famous Gray Rocks
Gray Rocks
Gray Rocks was a year-round privately-owned resort in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, first developed as a ski destination on Sugarloaf Hill . The ski hill had 22 downhill trails: 4 easy, 10 intermediate, 8 expert...
ski center at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. Taught to ski at the age of two, Lucile Wheeler's skills were such that she was soon competing against older skiers. At age 10, she finished seventh in a downhill ski event at Mont Tremblant in a race that was open to participants of all ages. By age 12, she had won the Canadian junior ski championship and at 14 was selected to compete for Canada at the 1950 World Championships in Aspen
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. However, her parents felt she was too young at age 15 to miss school and did not allow her to go.
The early 1950s was still a time when resources for Canadian skiers were extremely limited. There was very little in the way of government funding to cover expenses for skiers wishing to compete on the world stage or to pay for professional training. Recognizing their daughter's gifts, her parents bore the expense for her to spend several winters training in Kitzbühel, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. It paid off when she became the first North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n Olympic medalist in the downhill
Downhill
Downhill is an alpine skiing discipline. The rules for the Downhill were originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for the 1921 British National Ski Championships....
in alpine skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
, winning the bronze at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics
At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the six alpine skiing events were held from Friday, January 27 to Friday, February 3, 1956.Toni Sailer of Austria won all three men's events to become the first alpine ski racer to win three gold medals in a single Olympics...
in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. She followed this with a spectacular performance at the 1958 World Championships
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958
The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958 were held in Bad Gastein, Austria, between February 2–9, 1958.*Toni Sailer, 22, of Austria, won three gold medals and a silver.*Lucille Wheeler, 23, of Canada, won two gold medals and a silver.-External links:...
in Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein is a spa town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, situated at the northern rim of the Hohe Tauern national park. It has 5,838 inhabitants. The name "Bad" means "spa", reflecting the town's history as a health resort. It is located at the head of the Gastein valley, about 1,000 metres ...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, where she won both the downhill
Downhill
Downhill is an alpine skiing discipline. The rules for the Downhill were originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for the 1921 British National Ski Championships....
and the giant slalom
Giant Slalom skiing
Giant slalom is an alpine skiing discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles spaced at a greater distance to each other than in slalom but less than in super G....
and came very close to winning the combined
Alpine skiing combined
Combined is an alpine skiing event. Although not technically a discipline of its own, it is sometimes referred to as a fifth alpine discipline, along with downhill, super G, giant slalom, and slalom.-Traditional & Super-Combined:...
title, taking the silver.
Wheeler was voted the Lou Marsh Trophy
Lou Marsh Trophy
The Lou Marsh Trophy, also known as the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, with the vote taking place in December. It was first awarded in 1936...
as Canada's most outstanding athlete of 1958 and was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1976, she was made a member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, her country's highest civilian honor, and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Following her retirement from competitive racing in 1959, Wheeler, along with Réal Charette, was a ski instructor in a film made at the Banff
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
ski resort that won the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
's award as the best educational sports film of 1960. A few years later, she married CFL
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
Hall of Fame player Kaye Vaughan
Kaye Vaughan
Charles Kaye Vaughan is a former Canadian Football League and Hall of Fame player with the Ottawa Rough Riders who won the CFL's Outstanding Lineman Award in 1956 and 1957....
. For a time the couple lived in Ottawa, but in 1967 they moved to the village of Knowlton, Quebec, in the heart of a ski area known as the Eastern Townships
Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships is a tourist region and a former administrative region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed Logan's Line, the geologic boundary between the flat,...
. The mother of two children, at the high school in the nearby town of Cowansville
Cowansville, Quebec
Cowansville is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, located on Lac Davignon north of the U.S. border. It is the seat of Brome-Missisquoi, a regional county municipality...
Lucile Wheeler-Vaughan organized a ski program, introducing 14-and-under children to the sport.
Wheeler's breakthrough performance resulted in an increase in government funding that enabled other Canadian skiers to compete at the international level. Her achievements were also instrumental in increasing the popularity of the sport both nationwide and in her native Quebec where what was once a remote destination in the Laurentian mountains for only a limited few became a thriving ski area with an abundance of quality facilities that attracts hundreds of thousands of skiers every winter.