Winners: Kate Pace, Alpine Skiing
Kate Pace wearing her ski uniform.
Date: 1990’s
Collection: North Bay Sports Hall of Fame
1993 - Feature Story
In 1993, it sometimes seemed Kate Pace could out ski her rivals with one hand tied behind her back. At the World Championships in Morioka, Japan, she almost needed to do just that. She broke her wrist in a spill two weeks before, and could only one-arm her way out of the starting gate, unable to push with her injured arm. Yet despite the relatively slow getaway and the restrictions of the cast on her arm, she made up ground to defeat all her rivals and win the World Championship Downhill. The final margin of victory was more than a quarter of a second over Astrid Lodemel of Norway. Other than overcoming the injury, victory itself was no real surprise. Pace, an exceptional glider, was the No. 1-ranked downhiller in the world that season, having already won World Cup downhill races at both, Lillehammer, Norway, and Tignes, France.
Career Highlights
- 2001 Inducted into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame
- 1994, 1996, 1997 First place in the downhill at the Canadian Championships
- 1994 Named Canadian Skier of the Year
- 1993 Bobbie Rosenfeld Award (Canada’s female athlete of the year)
- 1993 Gold medallist in the downhill at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
