She was the toast of Canada at the Torino Olympics, and the pride of Canmore’s ’88 Olympic legacy. Now, Chandra Crawford is immortalized for the ages in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Crawford, the 2006 Olympic Gold cross-country ski sprint champion and multiple world cup medallist, was named to the Hall on Thursday (April 26) in Toronto,
“I feel very honoured to be part of the class of 2018. It’s very significant, because it’s really about Fast & Female,” Crawford said. “I’m fortunate my ski career has been so meaningful.”
Her story is the stuff of legends in ski circles. Following the path blazed by Beckie Scott and Sara Renner from the Canmore Nordic Centre to the Olympic podium, then 22-year-old Crawford wowed the Italian crowd with a perfect ski performance at the Torino Olympics. She belted out the national anthem from the top of the podium, and captured the imagination of a nation.
For an encore, she became one of the best sprint skiers in the world, winning seven world cup medals and launched her organization, Fast & Female, which aims to empower women through sport.
But years later, it’s not the glitter of the gold that Crawford cherishes. It’s the hard ass work.
“Looking back on the career I had, I definitely notice the personal growth and resiliency gained from tougher times. It feels like that is the real prize now. Medals were wonderful, the great travel was wonderful, but the prize I keep closest to my heart is the confidence and resilience I gained from going through so many trials and tribulations,” Crawford said.
It’s a lesson her sister, three-time Olympian Rosanna Crawford, has taken to heart.
“Chandra has been a big part of my career and why I really thought it possible to be an Olympian. Watching her win gold in 2006 showed me that anyone can make it to the Olympics with hard work and dedication. To have her recognized in this way is huge, she has given back to so many people across so many sports with her organization Fast and Female,” Rosanna Crawford said.
Since retirement, Crawford has become a mother, finished her master’s degree in Business Administration, and helped grow Fast & Female into a professional organization with events in five countries. Dreaming big was a skill she learned in sport, and it’s something she still draws upon.
“We are running fast and hard. People and communities are coming to us,” Crawford said.
Looking to the future of sport, Crawford is a big proponent of bringing the Olympic Games back to Calgary and Canmore. She admits her own career might not have happened without the ‘88 Games, but said it’s so much bigger than medals. It’s about creating a brilliant future.
“With the 2026 Olympics, we have a great opportunity. Pursuing big, amazing things is worth it for the growth and transformation we achieve as an athlete, and it’s also a strategy to get the things we want in our community – programs, infrastructure.
“We have to have clear conversations of what that would have to be, who we are, and where we are going,” Crawford said. “The Olympics are flashy, fun and dynamic, but it’s the transformation and inspiration we get to keep. We can produce a legacy we get to keep for generations.”
Crawford was inducted along with wheelchair racer Jeff Adams, CFL quarterback Damon Allen, catcher Mary Baker, diver Alexandre Despatie, rower Dr. Sandra Kirby, Indigenous sport advocate Wilton Littlechild, and NHLer Dave Keon.
