Canada ski hall inducts Gartner, Podivinsky

A bronze medalist at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games, a coach of Olympic and World Cup champions with more than 20 years experience and one of the most successful Canadian disabled alpine skiers ever are among the newest inductees into the Canadian Ski Museum Hall of Fame.
    The newest Canadian Ski Museum Hall of Fame inductees are:
Max Gartner: alpine coach — a ski coach for more than 20 years, Gartner’s successes include 1992 Olympic gold medalist Kerrin Lee-Gartner and World Cup champions Thomas Grandi, Edi Podivinsky and Cary Mullen.
Edi Podivinsky: alpine competitor — the first Canadian to win a medal (gold) at the World Junior Alpine Championships. Bronze medal win at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics and six World Cup titles.
Karolina Wisniewska: Alpine disabled competitor and builder — one of the top disabled skiers in the world, holding the World Cup title for the 2002–03 season, two silver medals at the Nagano Paralympics in 1998; and in Salt Lake City in 2002, she was the most decorated Canadian athlete in the Paralympics or the Olympics with four medals.
Nicolas Fontaine: freestyle competitor — four-time Olympian and four-time World Cup overall aerialist champ.
Bjorger Pettersen: cross-country coach and official — has been Canadian member of the FIS cross-country committee for many years, and coach, jury member, chief of competition and technical delegate or assistant technical delegate at eight Olympic Winter Games.
A BRONZE MEDALIST at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games, a coach of Olympic and World Cup champions with more than 20 years experience and one of the most successful Canadian disabled alpine skiers ever are among the newest inductees into the Canadian Ski Museum Hall of Fame.
    The newest Canadian Ski Museum Hall of Fame inductees are:

• Max Gartner: alpine coach — a ski coach for more than 20 years, Gartner’s successes include 1992 Olympic gold medalist Kerrin Lee-Gartner and World Cup champions Thomas Grandi, Edi Podivinsky and Cary Mullen.

• Edi Podivinsky: alpine competitor — the first Canadian to win a medal (gold) at the World Junior Alpine Championships. Bronze medal win at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics and six World Cup titles.

• Karolina Wisniewska: Alpine disabled competitor and builder — one of the top disabled skiers in the world, holding the World Cup title for the 2002–03 season, two silver medals at the Nagano Paralympics in 1998; and in Salt Lake City in 2002, she was the most decorated Canadian athlete in the Paralympics or the Olympics with four medals.

• Nicolas Fontaine: freestyle competitor — four-time Olympian and four-time World Cup overall aerialist champ.

• Bjorger Pettersen: cross-country coach and official — has been Canadian member of the FIS cross-country committee for many years, and coach, jury member, chief of competition and technical delegate or assistant technical delegate at eight Olympic Winter Games.

    The Canadian Ski Hall of Fame was created by the Canadian Ski Museum in 1982. Gartner, Podivinsky, Wisniewska, Fontaine and Pettersen will join 139 members currently in the hall of fame.
    The museum is planning a ceremony to be held at the end of the 2006-07 ski season to honor the new inductees. Details will be made available in the “events” section of the Canadian Ski Museum Web site www.skimuseum.ca.

— Alpine Canada Alpine