Canadian alpine skier
Ed Podivinsky
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| Born | (1970-03-08) March 8, 1970 (age 53)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
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Edward "Ed" Charles Podivinsky (born March 8, 1970) is a Canadian alpine skier who competed in the 1994 Winter Olympics, in the 1998 Winter Olympics, and in the 2002 Winter Olympics. He was member of the 1992 Canadian Olympic (Albertville) team as well. He was injured in his last training run for the men's downhill event.
Personal
Podivinsky was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He is of Czech descent. His brother Thomas died in a ski accident on February 16, 2014, at Whitefish Montana.[1]
Medals
In 1994 he won the bronze medal in the Alpine downhill event.
Career
Ed currently works in the institutional equity division at RBC Capital Markets.
Biography
Podivinsky was an Olympic bronze medalist. He competed for 13 years on the national team, captured a World Cup downhill in Saalbach, Austria. Ed was Canada's first world junior alpine champion in 1989. Before that, he skied as a forerunner at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. At 15, he was training with the national team. Former Olympian Carey Mullen recalled a Canadian alpine ski team race he and Podivinsky competed in as teenagers. Mullen, 16, came in 17th. Then 15-year-old Podivinsky flew into the finish area in third place, more than three seconds faster than Mullen. Although they started as rivals, the two became training partners and eventually friends. They both finidhrf 1-2 at a World Cup downhill in Saalbach in 1994. That set the stage for Lillehammer and Podivinsky's Olympic highlight. One of Podivinsky's favourite stories about reaching the podium in 1994 occurred soon after he crashed at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville. That spill happened on the final day of training in Val d'Isere, France, and took him out of the race. Within days, he was in a Vancouver hospital recovering from reconstructive knee surgery. "I was really groggy and Dr. Pat McConkey comes into my room, opens the drapes and turns on the TV," Podivinsky recalled. "He said, ‘[Canada's] Kerrin Lee-Gartner has just won gold. I repaired both those knees. You'd better make it back as well.'." Podivinsky made it back for Lillehammer, Nagano (where he placed fifth) and finally Salt Lake City (24th), where he knew his career was done. After retiring at 31, Podivinsky entered the world of finance. While competing, he studied for his chartered financial analyst exams and would spend time on trading floors during the off-season. He is Director of global equity sales for Royal Bank of Canada and a father of four, all are skiers.
Sports performance
Olympic Résulats
- Lillehammer in 1994 , 23 years
- Skiing, downhill : 3rd place
- Alpine Skiing Super G: Abandon
- Skiing, Handset: Abandon
Nagano in 1998 , 27 years
- Skiing, downhill : 5th place
- Alpine Skiing Super G: Disqualified
- Skiing, downhill : Abandon
2002 Salt Lake City, 31 years old
- Skiing, downhill : 24th place
- Skiing, Handset: Abandon
1995 Résulats of National competitions and North American
- 7th place , Giant Slalom , Stoneham / Le Relais, Quebec
- 5th place, Slalom, Stoneham / Le Relais, Quebec
- 1st place , Downhill , Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
- 3rd Place , Super G, Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
- 3rd place , Downhill , Whitefish , Montana
- 9th place , Giant Slalom , Whistler, British Columbia
1996
- 6th place Slalom , Le Relais , Quebec
- 6th place , Giant Slalom , Stoneham , Quebec
- 1st place , Downhill , Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
1997
- 3rd place Giant Slalom , Rossland, British Columbia
- 4th place, Downhill, Rossland, British Columbia
- 2nd place, Super G, Rossland, British Columbia
1998
- 1st place , Downhill Skiing, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
2000
- 6th place , Giant Slalom , Sun Peaks, British Columbia
2001
- 2nd place , Downhill Skiing, Lake Louise, Alberta
- 3rd place , Downhill Skiing, Lake Louise, Alberta
- 3rd place, Downhill, Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
- 7th , Super G, Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
- 8th place, Slalom, Mont Orford , Quebec
2002
- 4th place , Downhill Skiing, Whistler , British Columbia, Quebec
Résulats International Competitions
1988
- 8th place , Downhill , Madonna di Campiglio , Italy
1989
- 1st place , Downhill Aleyska , Alaska
1991
- 9th place , Giant Slalom , Saalbach -Hinterglemm, Austria
1994
- 1st place , Downhill , Saalbach -Hinterglemm, Austria
- 5th place, Handset, Chamonix, France
- 3rd place , Downhill Skiing, Lillehammer, Norway
- 7th place , Downhill , Aspen, United States of America
- 4th place , Downhill , Aspen, United States of America
- 5th place, Downhill, Cail , United States of America
1995
- 4th place , Downhill Kitzbühel , Austria
- 7th place , Handset , Wengen, Switzerland
- 5th place , Downhill , Saalbach -Hinterglemm, Austria
- 4th , Super G , Whistler, British Columbia
- 4th place, Downhill, Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
- 9th place , Giant Slalom , Whistler, British Columbia
- 4th , Super G, El Colorado / Farellone , Chile
- 10th place , Downhill Skiing, Vail, Colorado
- 3rd place , Downhill , Bormio, Italy
1996
- 5th place, Handset, Kitzbühel , Austria
- 2nd place Super -G , Garmisch -Partenkirchen , Germany
- 2nd place, Downhill, Mont Ste Anne , Quebec
- 3rd place Slalom, Mont Garceau , Quebec
- 2nd place Giant Slalom , Mont Garceau , Quebec
- 4th place , Downhill , Bormio , Italy
1997
- 10th place , Downhill Kitzbühel , Austria
- 4th , Super G , Garmisch -Partenkirchen , Germany
- 3rd place , Downhill Kvitfjell , Norway
- 5th place, Downhill, Valle Nevado / LaParva , Chile
1998
- 9th place , Downhill , Wengen, Switzerland
- 3rd place, Handset, Kitzbühel , Austria
- 1st place , Downhill , Jackson, Wyoming
1999
- 3rd place, Downhill, Val Gardena, Italy
- 10th place , Downhill Skiing, Val Gardena, Italy
2000
- 3rd place , Downhill , Wengen, Switzerland
- 5th place , Downhill , Bormio, Italy
Saalbach