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Janyk, Britt

  • CA-BC-JB004
  • Person
  • May 21, 1980 -

Britt Janyk is a retired Canadian alpine skier who specialized in downhill, super G, alpine combined, and giant slalom. She is the daughter of former Whistler councillor and national ski racer Andree Janyk and Bill Janyk, and the brother of World Cup alpine skier Michael Janyk. She also has a sister named Stephanie. She was born in North Vancouver on May 21, 1980. She learned to ski on Whistler Mountain in her early childhood and joined the Whistler Mountain Ski Club as a teenager in 1996, when her family moved there from West Vancouver in 1995. Janyk debuted in the World Cup in 1999. She started out with slalom and giant slalom, but after nearly losing her place on the Canadian National Alpine Ski Team, switched to speed events and excelled. During her career as a skier for Alpine Canada, she scored 18 Top 10 finishes in World Cup Competitions, including two podium finishes in downhill races. Both of these - a first place at Aspen and a third at Lake Louise - came in the 2007/2008 season, during which Janyk placed third overall. Her Olympic debut was at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in her hometown of Whistler; she received a sixth place finish in the downhill. Janyk retired from professional skiing the following year, but remains active in the sports world. She provided commentary for the 2012/2013 Alpine Skiing World Cup through Eurosport and the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic skiing event through the Olympic Broadcasting Service. She has been an ambassador for Right to Play since 2008, a participant in Ski With an Olympian since 2012, as well as a salesperson at Peak Performance and U12 Ski Coach with the Whistler Mountain Ski Club since 2015. She was also a board member of the Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation for eight months in 2011/2012.

Wasmeier, Markus

  • DE-WM001
  • Person
  • b. September 9, 1963

Markus Wasmeier is a German former alpine ski racer who competed in the 1993 Labatt Blue Men's Downhill and Super G at Whistler Mountain. Throughout his career he won a total of 9 World Cup races, was World Champion in Giant Slalom in 1985, and took home two gold medals (in Giant Slalom and Super G) at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games. He was named Sportsman of the Year for 1994 in Germany. Since retiring, Wasmeier has worked as a television commentator, served as a consultant in the German Skiing Federation, studied and taught heritage building restoration, and founded a farm and winter sport museum.

Podborski, Steve

  • CA-ON-PS001
  • Person
  • b. July 25, 1957

Steven 'Steve' Gregory Podborski is a former downhill ski racer and member of the 'Crazy Canucks.' Born in Toronto, Ontario, Podborski started skiing at two-and-a-half years old at Craigleith Ski Club. He joined the Canadian alpine ski team in 1973 and made his World Cup debut the following year at the age of 17, scoring two top ten finishes in his first season. He made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, winning the bronze medal at the downhill; he had planned to debut at the previous Games but been forced to cancel due to a knee injury. His third-place win at the Games made him the only Crazy Canuck ever to win an Olympic medal, as well as the first North American man to do so in the downhill. In 1982, he became the first North American to win the World Cup season title in downhill skiing. In total, he won 8 World Cup downhill races (including the famously difficult Hahenkamm race, twice) and finished within the top 10 in 34 more. He retired after the 1984 season.

After retiring, Podborski continued to contribute to the sports world. He covered snowboarding for Olympics on CBS in 1998, cycling and Tae Kwon Do for NBC in 2000, and freestyle skiing for NBC in 2002 and 2006, and commented on three Winter Olympics (Salt Lake City 2002, Torino 2006, Whistler/Vancouver 2010). He was on the bid committee for the 2010 Winter Olympics, responsible for international relations. He was named Chef de Mission for the Canadian Olympic Team for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi (2014). He worked for Telus from 2003 to 2017, achieving the position of National Director, Community Sports. In June 2017, he became President and CEO of Parachute, an organization focusing on injury prevention in sports.

Podborski has received many honours, including the Order of Canada in 1982, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. He was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985, the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame in 1986, the Canadian Sport Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Ontario Sport Hall of Fame in 1987.