#STEVELEEFIGHTBACK

In September 2020 the entire snow community was shocked when Steve Lee suffered a debilitating stroke while at home in Falls Creek. Lee was eventually hospitalised in a rehabilitation facility in Wangaratta, paralysed on his left side. The champion’s friends led an effort to rally support behind him and his family by donating funds to cover his ongoing treatment and long-term support and assistance.

Steve Lee will require significant financial support to cover long lasting medical expenses and Snow Australia is calling on the community to keep helping. Donate through the online portal set up via the Australian Sports Foundation, at https://asf.org.au/communities/snow-australia/steve-lee-fightback/. We all send Steve and his family our very best wishes as he faces a lengthy and challenging recovery process.

To follow his medical updates, a Facebook page Steve Lee Support Tribe has been set up by his family #steveleefightback.

BIO INFORMATION

One of the legends of Australian skiing and the second of only three Australians ever to claim victory on the Alpine World Cup circuit, Steven Lee’s competitive career spanned over 25 years.

Growing up in Falls Creek, Lee embraced skiing from a very young age and had skis at his feet when he was just two years old. Lee attributes part of his success to those irreplaceable early miles and having the fortune of living in a ski resort, which gave him the opportunity to spend every possible day on skis when he was a kid. 

His parents understood sport well and were a major factor in his development. Lee’s mother was a physical education teacher and offered his son precious guidance along with a good measure of restraint, making sure a young Steven wouldn’t be pushed into events beyond his physical capabilities early on. This approach allowed Steve’s skills and strength to build naturally, without fear or injury along the way.

Lee was indeed a natural skier and had a huge talent for sport, one his coaches worked well to develop. Swiss coach Jan Tischhauser was perhaps the biggest influence on Lee during his time as coach of the Australian National team. Tischhauser’s rise through the sport began when he guided Lee from FIS-level racing to World Cup success, before achieving even more coaching success with the Swiss and French teams later on. But early Falls Creek race club coaches Peter Funkhauser, Richi Walter and Sigi Nicholussi, along with ski school directors of the era, Sigi Habertzetal and George Pirmosa, all played a part in establishing Lee’s talent. And so did his World Cup coaches after 1985, the likes of François Sedan, Bruno Landolt, Colin Morison and Andy Newton.

Lee achieved his first major result on the World Cup circuit at Kitzbuehel, Austria, where he placed 10 in the 1983 Hahnenkamm Downhill event. From then on he managed to score World Cup points with impressive consistency, 18 times in eight of the ten years he raced on the tour. Overall, Lee claimed twenty top-15 finishes in Downhill, Super-G and combined events.

The standout result of Lee’s career is of course his World Cup victory in the Super-G in Furano, Japan. On 3 March 1985 Lee managed to tie for first place with Daniel Mahrer from Switzerland, winning the race despite his bib #43. With that success, Lee became the second Australian skier ever to claim victory on the World Cup tour, 16 years after Malcom Milne - Zali Steggall would later join this prestigious club in 1997 by winning the World Cup Slalom in Park City, Utah (USA).

Lee indicated Malcolm Milne as his biggest role model during his development years. A fellow Falls Creek local, Milne had been a mentor and one of Lee’s idols alongside Austrian champion Franz Klammer. 

After Klammer retired in 1985, Lee looked up to multiple overall FIS World Cup winners Pirmin Zurbriggen and Marc Girardelli the most. Girardelli in particular was tremendously inspirational for Lee. Austrian born, but competing under the Luxembourg flag after some major disagreements with the Austrian Federation around his coaching, Girardelli was a ‘solo act’ on the World Cup, much like Lee himself, and yet was able to take on and dominate alpine skiing for a generation. 

Along with his World Cup success, Steve Lee represented Australia at three Olympic Games between 1984 and 1992 and competed in six Alpine Skiing World Championships, scoring two top-10 results. His best World Championship finish is an 8th place in the Vail 1989 Super-G event.

Towards the end of his career Lee swapped the World Cup circuit for the World Pro Tour in the USA, winning the Pro Downhill Tour ‘King of the Mountain’ title. 

Once retired from ski racing Lee has been active as a television host and commentator, including commentating Alpine Freestyle events at four Winter Olympics and several World Championships. He notably called Dale Begg-Smith’s Gold medal performance in Moguls at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympic Games, amongst others.

Lee has also worked in movie production as a stunt skier. Films he’s been involved with include an installment of the James Bond franchise with Roger Moore and a Jackie Chan movie, First Strike, produced at Falls Creek.