Should Marvel Comics decide to put up yet another sequel to Iron Man, or should Hollywood TV moguls decide to film The Six Million Dollar Man Redux, casting agents need look no further for a star than Banff’s own Jan Hudec.
Hudec, like the original Six Million Dollar Man, despite what would be catastrophic injuries to lesser mortals, has been rebuilt to be stronger, faster – Olympics bronze medal ready.
Hudec even possesses a nifty nickname, Panda, that could be used in an epic film and be a key feature for action figure sales (with some of the proceeds going to the Canadian alpine Olympic program?).
Hudec’s super powers could be perseverance, the ability to perform with pain, the determination to make comeback after comeback after going under a surgeon’s knife, the ability to crack a joke and break out a gap-tooth smile under harsh circumstances (see page19).
In other words, Hudec possesses many of the qualities we’d all like to see in our athletes. And unlike the millionaire NHLers we’ve sent to the Olympic Games in Sochi, and who almost bowed out to massive underdogs Latvia, Hudec’s been paying his own way, going from no money in his bank account to starting a charity of his own to support other ski racers.
The Hudec story even has Bond-like undertones, with his being born behind the Iron Curtain (Czechoslovakia) before his family made their way to Canada and the West in a boat his parents, Jan Senior and Vladi, crafted themselves. After moving from Red Deer to Banff and getting skis under him with Banff Alpine Racers, his ski story was being written.
Now a family man who broke Canada’s 20-year Olympic alpine skiing medal drought and appears to be the lone Bow Valley athlete who will land on a Sochi medal podium, Hudec earned his bronze medal just five weeks after suffering a herniated disk in his back.
To see him rocket down Sochi’s super-G course coming off a back injury is the stuff of Olympic glory. His story will rival that of Gilmore Junio and Denny Morrison as being the most interesting from the 2014 Olympics.
And with Hudec, there’s no whining about conditions, skis, venue construction, speed suits – any of the ailments that have apparently bothered other, lesser Olympians – Panda just goes about his way, toughing it out and in doing so, becoming a role model for young ski hopefuls across the country.
For young Bow Valley athletes, say those who recently participated in the successful local Alberta Winter Games, Hudec’s story is one to be savoured. It’s a story of determination, perseverance and a deep love for his chosen sport.
NIMBY here in the valley?
Here at the Outlook, we do hope that comments made regarding Banff’s Caribou Properties’ “boarding house for transients,” or “Nightmare on Beaver Street,” or in our letters section, mirror only citizens’ concerns for service industry workers’ well being.
We’d like to think that concerns raised about “dormitory style” housing proposed by Caribou having nothing to do dismissive attitudes toward the generally young people who flip long-term residents’ burgers, serve their coffee, help them find goods in stores and pretty much keep tourism town businesses functioning.
Are these complaints about living conditions for staffers related to overcrowding, or about the condition of them crowding in among the citizenry?
