After 12 years as one of the most respected and admired athletes in the Bow Valley, Olympian Phil Widmer has announced his retirement from cross-country skiing.
“I feel I’ve seen it through. I’ve pursued the opportunities I’ve been given and have to be happy with the way it’s been,” Widmer said.
A member of Canada’s 2006 Winter Olympic team and owner of six Canadian national medals, the 30-year olf Widmer’s top world cup result was a 12th-place finish, although his approach to the sport and kindness made him a team favourite amongst his peers.
“In my career, I probably won less than 20 races. That’s not many factored over a career of 12 years, so I lost more than I won, but I had my share of success along the way,” Widmer said. “I’m a resilient individual. The approach is always the same. It’s the ability to cope with the potential if it doesn’t work out.”
He credits his family for seeing him through the highs and lows of his career, as they always told him to keep things in perspective.
“My family has been the biggest factor. Sport is very consuming, but my family provides perspective. When I didn’t make the 2014 Olympics, I was crushed, but didn’t stop living. Keep going,” Widmer said.
Growing up in Banff, Widmer was a budding alpine and Nordic combined athlete, and gradually moved into the cross-country ski world as a teenager with the Banff Ski Runners. Coming late to the sport, he decided to dedicate himself to cross-country skiing, even though he was told he was crazy for dreaming about the Olympics.
“I was behind most all of the benchmarks for international success by Nordic sports standards, but I had the dream. I was motivated and I had the support of my family,” Widmer said. “I look where I came from, at 18, where I wasn’t on the national team, I didn’t make a world junior trip, I was essentially coming in raw… I was starting at a disadvantage, but I took it as far as I could.”
He was a quick study as a sprinter and made the Canadian national team in 2003, racing domestically across the country. By 2006, he qualified for the Olympics in Torino, Italy and started to believe he could be one of the fastest in the world. His first tour overseas was to the Olympics, and his future looked bright.
“I was a nervous wreck at the Olympics. I won’t say I made every mistake you can make, but I made a lot of them,” Widmer said. “Up to that point, I had started two world cups.”
He had to battle for his spot with a competitive Canadian men’s team as the team grew stronger. Every time he proved himself in Canada, he’d fly to Europe and have to prove himself again or get sent back – a tough slog for any athlete.
Widmer missed the 2010 Olympics and was cut by the national team in 2011. He contemplated retirement, but decided to keep pursuing his career.
He was extremely hard on himself for not realizing his goal, which is his one regret with the sport.
“I was taking it too seriously. When you’re in that bubble, I wish I could have told younger Phil to just enjoy it. I realize I could have been easier on myself,” Widmer said.
In 2012, he refocused and ended up in a heated battle with Canmore’s Jesse Cockney for the title of top Canadian sprinter. In 2013, Widmer beat out Cockney for a trip to his third world championship, but in 2014, Cockney was victorious. Widmer calls Cockney the fiercest competitor he’s faced.
Friends, coaches and teammates couldn’t praise Widmer enough for his contributions to the sport. While his race resumé wasn’t among Canada’s all-time best, the level of respect and reverence from his peers is beyond compare.
“We’ve been teammates, good friends and fierce competitors,” said retired national team skier Drew Goldsack. “We’ve had lots of battles over the years and he’s a really talented sprinter. He was always one of the fastest sprinters and one of the guys always pushing it. He was a great guy for the younger skiers to look up to.”
The close-knit group of friends shared adventures on and off the ski trails.
“I’ll never forget Phil’s ability to book flights for the wrong year. There were a few times where we’d get to the airport and realize Phil had booked flights for the week before or the year after, ” Goldsack said.
Alberta World Cup Academy coach Mike Cavaliere talked Widmer out of retirement in 2011, and teared up at the thought of losing him from the national team roster.
“It’s sort of sad losing a great person and great athlete,” Cavaliere said. “Phil did everything in his power to be as good as he could be. What he really brought to the academy was leadership. He was calm, cool and collected and always put the team in front of himself. I know I’ll always have him as a friend.”
Stefan Kuhn raced and coached Widmer and said he’s had an incredible affect on younger skiers.
“He’s got the biggest heart in the community – really the nicest guy out there. He was always happy to help the younger kids and support the older guys, but he also had the fight and drive to be one of the fastest guys in the world,” Kuhn said.
From bitter sprint battles to smacking him in the face with a pair of shoes, Kuhn said Widmer was always up for anything. He remembers a powder day in Sapporo, Japan when they decided to ditch training for snow fun.
“We tried to stay on the groomed trails, but since both of us were born in the mountains, we ended up chucking ourselves off cliffs,” Kuhn said. “I think we spent 30 minutes on the trail and the rest of our time playing in the powder.”
Widmer’s got several challenges lined up for retirement. After working the summer at Ticino’s, his family’s restaurant in Banff, Widmer is contemplating a career in commerce, but plans to try his hand at carpentry and build his own home one day. But he’ll never forget his ski friends.
“I hope to grow old with these guys. We’re wired a little different than some, I think, but that’s why we were drawn to the sport and why we’re friends.”
