Ski legend Steve Lee among '80s Alpine and Cross-country athletes honoured with Snow Australia Medal
Published Tue 27 Oct 2020
Triple Olympian and FIS World Cup winner Steve Lee spearheads the latest group of snowsports legends announced today as recipients of the Snow Australia Medal.
In addition to Lee - the second of only three Australian skiers ever to claim victory on the Alpine World Cup circuit - the 9-strong list features members of the Australian teams who participated in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Winter Games, including Cross-country skiers Christopher Allen, David Hislop and Chris Heberle, and Alpine skiers Alistair Guss, Marilla Guss, Ondine McGlashan, Richard Biggins and Peter Forras.
The Australian Alpine team of the ‘80s has been described as one of strongest in the history of Australian skiing. Led by Steve Lee, who was also able to claim over 20 top-15 finishes in Downhill, Super-G and Combined in addition to his historical 1985 Super-G victory, the rest of the team performed with remarkable consistency on the World Cup circuit, with regular appearances in the top 30. Among them was Richie Biggins, a product of the prolific Mt Hotham snowsports school who developed his talent in Saalbach, Austria, competing against the best European prospects in his age group.
Despite his potential, Biggins’ career was an uphill battle with injuries. At 18 he was involved in a terrible motorcycle accident where he sustained fractures in his back, hips and shoulder, and part of his stomach had to be removed as a result of the trauma. The accident left Biggins unable to walk properly and most doctors pessimistic about his full recovery, let alone considering a ski racing comeback.
However, Biggins found hope working with a team of physios which included Ann Quinn, a therapist who had also supported tennis champion Pat Cash and other high profile Australian athletes. Quinn played a major role in Biggins’ recovery and made him believe that, with some hard work and luck, he might be actually able to compete again.
Less than two years later, Biggins was at the starting gate of the 1987 Ski World Championships despite being by far the skinniest competitor, as the long lasting effects of the trauma made it very difficult for him to gain weight and muscle mass. Fighting through more setbacks, Biggins was able to make the selection for the 1988 Calgary Olympics the following year.
“It was a real battle,” Biggins confessed when Snow Australia recently reached out to congratulate him for his Snow Australia Medal. “Even leading up to the Olympics, I broke my hand a month before the Games and had to have plates inserted. I was always going to be the comeback kid - a guy who was probably never going to reach his full potential because of all the physical injuries I had sustained along the way.
“It’s very frustrating to know that you’re technically skiing well enough, but physically you’re not where you need to be to be right up there with the best.”
SNOW AUSTRALIA MEDAL RECIPIENTS |
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Chris Allan |
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Richie Biggins 1967 - Discipline: Alpine Skiing Olympic participations: Calgary 1988 Medal awarded in: 2020 |
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Peter Forras 1964 - Discipline: Alpine Skiing Olympic participations: Calgary 1988 Medal awarded in: 2020 |
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Alistair Guss 1965 - Discipline: Alpine Skiing Olympic Participation: Sarajevo 1984 Medal awarded in: 2020 |
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Marilla Guss 1963 - Discipline: Alpine Skiing Olympic Participation: Sarajevo 1984 Medal awarded in: 2020 |
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Chris Heberle 1965 - Discipline: Cross Country Skiing Olympic Participation: Calgary 1988 Medal awarded in: 2020 |
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Discipline: Cross Country Skiing |
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Steve Lee 1962 - Discipline: Alpine Skiing Olympic Participation: Sarajevo 1984, Calgary 1988, Albertville 1992 Notable Achievements: 1st Furano World Cup Super G 1985 Medal awarded in: 2020 |
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Ondine McGlashan 1962 - Discipline: Alpine Skiing Olympic Participation: Sarajevo 1984 Medal awarded in: 2020 |
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Biggins described the mood in the Australian camp prior to the Calgary Olympics as quite nervous, at least until one of the team’s physiotherapists decided it was time to break the tension, and to do so in remarkable fashion.
“Steve [Lee]’s physical trainer was a funny guy and a very good skier named Colin,” Biggins explained. “The two of them were really close, having travelled the World Cup circuit together. Steve managed to get him an accreditation for the Olympics, and Colin was so excited that he actually brought his Scottish kit with him.
“On the day of the Super-G, Colin decided he wanted to put his kilt on and then managed to come onto the course with us for the inspection. There must have been thousands of people on the hill, and they were all screaming and excited. Lo and behold, someone from the crowd yelled ‘Hey buddy, what’s under your kilt?’”
True to tradition, the physiotherapist had nothing on under his kilt and decided to flash the crowd.
“So now we’re there, trying to concentrate on the Olympic race, and we’ve got thousands of people screaming at this mad Australian guy who decided to flash them, in true Scottish style!
“That was the best thing that could have happened to us, especially to me, because there were so many nerves coming into the Olympics, and so many unknowns. It was just great. What could potentially act as a distraction was really far from it, and something we really needed to get our mind off that pressure.”
Biggins’ anecdote from the 1988 Olympics also speaks of the atmosphere in that Australian team, and the chemistry that came to define it. In fact, several members of that team had already been competing together as very young skiers in Australia, where they got to know each other quite well before going on to represent Australia on the international stage. That experience laid down the foundation for friendships which transcended ski racing and are strong to this day.
“There was a chemistry and a camaraderie that existed in the skiing community a long time ago, that it's difficult for people to understand now. That camaraderie was very instantaneous and it went far and deep,
particularly with Steve, Alastair Guss, Peter Forras and [fellow Winter Olympian and Snow Australia Medal recipient] Antony Guss, as I probably raced with them more than with the rest of the guys on the team. But you could say that of all the twenty-odd kids that were in that camp. The camaraderie was incredibly strong,” Biggins said.
Living away from home for long periods, sometimes even six or seven months at a time, teammates became family.
“It was like brothers. We were living in each other’s pockets every day. Sure, we had the occasional fight and lots of arguments, but it was all stuff that we laughed off at the end of the day. We learned to look after each other,” continued Biggins.
“Remember that we didn’t have mobile phones back then. You used to have to call the local exchange to get a line out and quite often you wouldn’t get one and you’d have to wait a few days. You had to put pen to paper, trying to give people some detail on what was going on in your life, which you couldn’t always do on a telephone call as the line was scruffy and it was difficult to communicate”.
So young teammates often relied on each other. If someone was feeling a bit down, others would be close enough to be able to pick up on that, as brothers and sisters do.
”That was not something we asked of one another. It was given. We were always there for each other and that was pretty cool.”
Friendships built in that period proved to stand the test of time. Even today, members of that group continue to nurture those relationships, making sure they find the time to catch up regularly.
“We’re still very close. It’s always like it just started, same little funny things and jokes,” added Biggins.
In September 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.
“Having Steve around has been such a good thing for me because he’s always known how to handle me and how to help me. That was always something interesting about Steve. I was the best man at his wedding, he was the best man at mine. Our relationship has blossomed so much over the years. It just carried on into a fantastic relationship with all our teammates and it’s really, really special,” Biggins said.
Lee has always been a courageous athlete and a charismatic man, as Biggins described through another story dating back to their racing days. One that has multiple Olympic and World Champion Alberto Tomba of Italy as the main protagonist.
“Alberto was one of the junior guys I started competing with on one of my first trips to Italy,” Biggins said. “I remember watching him ski and you could immediately tell that the kid was going to be something special.
“So one day Steve tells me that he had an eventful day training on the glacier. He tells me that Tomba had watched him and a few other athletes come down the slope. Steve had made this 360-degree jump on downhill skis and Tomba thought that was one of the best things he’d ever seen, so he had asked Steve - Can you teach me how to do it? He was on his Super-G skis because that’s what they were training for. Steve of course said - Sure mate, not a problem!
“It turns out aerials were clearly not in Tomba’s repertoire. He tried to imitate Steve, but he actually hurt himself when he fell, as he couldn’t land his 360. The Italian coach was pretty upset with Steve - what was he doing trying to teach their best junior athlete how to jump?!
“But Tomba had looked at Steve and loved what Steve represented. A true person who loves skiing.”
Steve Lee will require significant financial support to cover long lasting medical expenses and Snow Australia is calling on the community to keep helping. Tax deductible donatins can be made 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.