Dave Irwin
Encyclopedia
Dave Irwin is a former alpine ski racer
who represented Canada at two Winter Olympic
Games and won a World Cup
. He was one of the "Crazy Canucks
", a group of Canadian downhill racers who rose to prominence on the World Cup circuit in the late 1970s. He currently lives in Canmore
, Alberta
, near the Rocky Mountains
.
Dave Irwin was born in Thunder Bay
, Ontario
, Canada
where he learned to to ski at the age of three at his father's ski resort. By the age of 17, Irwin had been selected to be a member of the Canadian National Ski Team.
Irwin's first World Cup race was the downhill
at Schladming, Austria on December 22, 1973 where he placed 14th. Two years later at Schladming, he won the downhill event
in a time of 2:00.84 beating the second place finisher, Klaus Eberhard by almost two seconds. Irwin reached the podium again in 1982 with a third place finish at the World Cup downhill in Whistler, B.C. behind winner Peter Müller
, and team mate Steve Podborski
.
Irwin represented Canada at two Winter Olympic Games
. At the 1976 Winter Olympics
in Innsbruck, Austria, Irwin finished eighth. At the 1980 Winter Olympics
in Lake Placid, USA, he placed eleventh.
Irwin suffered a traumatic brain injury
on a training run for an Export A Skier-Cross event on March 23, 2001 which put him in a coma for three days. He recovered from the injury to create the Dave Irwin Foundation for Brain Injury.
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...
who represented Canada at two Winter Olympic
Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics
Alpine skiing has been contested at every Winter Olympics since 1936, when a combined event was held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. From 1948–80, the Winter Olympics also served as the World Championships in Olympic years...
Games and won a World Cup
Alpine skiing World Cup
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA...
. He was one of the "Crazy Canucks
Crazy Canucks
The Crazy Canucks was a group of Canadian alpine ski racers who rose to prominence in the World Cup during the 1970s and 80s. Dave Irwin, Dave Murray, Steve Podborski, Jim Hunter and Ken Read earned themselves a reputation for fast and seemingly reckless skiing....
", a group of Canadian downhill racers who rose to prominence on the World Cup circuit in the late 1970s. He currently lives in Canmore
Canmore, Alberta
Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of the City of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rockies. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, near the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
Dave Irwin was born in Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where he learned to to ski at the age of three at his father's ski resort. By the age of 17, Irwin had been selected to be a member of the Canadian National Ski Team.
Irwin's first World Cup race was 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....
at Schladming, Austria on December 22, 1973 where he placed 14th. Two years later at Schladming, he won the downhill event
1976 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 10th World Cup season began in December 1975 in France and concluded in March 1976 in Canada. Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden won the first of his three consecutive overall titles...
in a time of 2:00.84 beating the second place finisher, Klaus Eberhard by almost two seconds. Irwin reached the podium again in 1982 with a third place finish at the World Cup downhill in Whistler, B.C. behind winner Peter Müller
Peter Müller (skier)
Peter Müller is a Swiss former champion alpine ski racer, a prominent downhiller during the 1980s. A world champion in 1987 in the downhill, he was a silver medalist the downhill in two world championships and two Olympic games .Müller was the World Cup season titlist in the downhill in 1979,...
, and team mate Steve Podborski
Steve Podborski
Stephen Gregory Podborski, is a Canadian former World Cup and Olympic downhill ski racer with Ukrainian ancestry.-Racing career:...
.
Irwin represented Canada at two Winter Olympic Games
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...
. At the 1976 Winter Olympics
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...
in Innsbruck, Austria, Irwin finished eighth. At the 1980 Winter Olympics
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...
in Lake Placid, USA, he placed eleventh.
Traumatic brain injury
Iriwn sustained two severe concussions during his racing career, once before the 1976, Olympics, and a second concussion before the 1980 Olympics. The first concussion was sustained on January 10, 1976 at the downhill race in Wengen, Switzerland and resulted in five days in hospital. Less than two weeks later, Irwin was back training with the ski team.Irwin suffered a traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury , also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...
on a training run for an Export A Skier-Cross event on March 23, 2001 which put him in a coma for three days. He recovered from the injury to create the Dave Irwin Foundation for Brain Injury.