Viking Olympians

A recent newspaper article from CA PRESSE, written by Nathalie Deraspe, described the rise of amateur athlete Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt, from the time she trained with the Viking Club until her victory at the junior ski championships in Canmore in March 2011. The article concluded by saying that Olivia hoped to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.

By competing in the Olympic Games, Olivia would be following in the footsteps of two other Viking Ski Club members: Karl Baadsvik, who participated in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Games in 1936 and Ulf Kvendbo, a member of the Canadian team at the Grenoble Games of 1968 and the Sapporo Games of 1972.

Born in Norway in 1910, later settling in Canada, Karl Baadsvik won numerous ski jumping and cross country ski competitions beginning in the late 1920’s. As one of the founding members of the Viking Ski Club, he would remain very active in the competitive world. In the winter of 1932-33, he won the Canadian championships in nordic combined (ski jumping and cross country). During the winter of 1933-34, he won the Laurentian championships in ski jumping and downhill skiing. At Sainte-Marguerite, he won the Viking Club Open Tournament in cross country and downhill.

In 1936, at the age of 26, he was selected as a member of the Canadian Olympic team for the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Games where, for the first time, alpine skiing became an Olympic sport. Karl Baadsvik would compete in four events: ski jumping, nordic combined, slalom and downhill. Even though he did not make the podium, it is remarkable that he competed in four very different events. This tradition of a skier competing in all the events was common and would even continue at the Saint-Moritz Games of 1948.

Another member of the Viking Club would later have the honor of representing Canada at the Olympic Games. Ulf Kvendbo, whose father Bjarne was president of the club from 1951 to 1954 and from 1956-1959, was born in Stockholm in 1948 before coming to Canada with his family. Ulf Kvendbo competed with the Canadian team at the 1968 Grenoble Games in ski jumping. Four years later, in 1972, he again represented Canada in the same event at the Sapporo Games. At that time, skiers had become specialists and concentrated on one event. Kvendbo competed in the normal hill and large hill events.

Since the foundation of the Viking Ski Club, many of its members have had success in a variety of ski competitions. But until now, Baadsvik and Kvendbo are the only ones to have competed in the Olympic Games. As such, members of the club will certainly have their eyes focused on Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt during future Winter Olympics.

Richard L’Heureux