# Ed Podivinsky

Edward "Ed" Charles Podivinsky (born March 8, 1970) is a Canadian alpine skier who competed in the 1994 Winter Olympics, 1998 Winter Olympics, and 2002 Winter Olympics. He was member of the 1992 Canadian Olympic (Albertville) team. He was injured in his last training run for the men's downhill event.

## Personal

Podivinsky was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He is of Czech descent. His brother Thomas died in a ski accident on February 16, 2014, at Whitefish Montana.

## Biography

Podivinsky was an Olympic bronze medalist. He competed for 13 years on the national team, captured a World Cup downhill in Saalbach, Austria. Ed was Canada's first world junior alpine champion in 1989. Before that, he skied as a forerunner at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. At 15, he was training with the national team. Former Olympian Carey Mullen recalled a Canadian alpine ski team race he and Podivinsky competed in as teenagers. Mullen, 16, came in 17th. Then 15-year-old Podivinsky flew into the finish area in third place, more than three seconds faster than Mullen. Although they started as rivals, the two became training partners and eventually friends. They both finidhrf 1-2 at a World Cup downhill in Saalbach in 1994. That set the stage for Lillehammer and Podivinsky's Olympic highlight. One of Podivinsky's favourite stories about reaching the podium in 1994 occurred soon after he crashed at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville. That spill happened on the final day of training in Val d'Isere, France, and took him out of the race. Within days, he was in a Vancouver hospital recovering from reconstructive knee surgery. "I was really groggy and Dr. Pat McConkey comes into my room, opens the drapes and turns on the TV," Podivinsky recalled. "He said, ‘[Canada's] Kerrin Lee-Gartner has just won gold. I repaired both those knees. You'd better make it back as well.'." Podivinsky made it back for Lillehammer, Nagano (where he placed fifth) and finally Salt Lake City (24th), where he knew his career was done. After retiring at 31, Podivinsky entered the world of finance. While competing, he studied for his chartered financial analyst exams and would spend time on trading floors during the off-season. He is Director of global equity sales for Royal Bank of Canada and a father of four, all of whom are skiers.
Ed currently works in the institutional equity division at RBC Capital Markets.

## Medals

In 1994, he won the bronze medal in the Alpine downhill event.

## Sports performance

Olympic Résulats
    Lillehammer in 1994 , 23 years
    Skiing, downhill : 3rd place
    Alpine Skiing Super G: Abandon
    Skiing, Handset: Abandon
Nagano in 1998 , 27 years
    Skiing, downhill : 5th place
    Alpine Skiing Super G: Disqualified
    Skiing, downhill : Abandon
2002 Salt Lake City, 31 years old
    Skiing, downhill : 24th place
    Skiing, Handset: Abandon
1995 Résulats of National competitions and North American
    7th place , Giant Slalom , Stoneham / Le Relais, Quebec
    5th place, Slalom, Stoneham / Le Relais, Quebec
    1st place , Downhill , Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
    3rd Place , Super G, Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
    3rd place , Downhill , Whitefish , Montana
    9th place , Giant Slalom , Whistler, British Columbia
1996
    6th place Slalom , Le Relais , Quebec
    6th place , Giant Slalom , Stoneham , Quebec
    1st place , Downhill , Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
1997
    3rd place Giant Slalom , Rossland, British Columbia
    4th place, Downhill, Rossland, British Columbia
    2nd place, Super G, Rossland, British Columbia
1998
    1st place , Downhill Skiing, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
2000
    6th place , Giant Slalom , Sun Peaks, British Columbia
2001
    2nd place , Downhill Skiing, Lake Louise, Alberta
    3rd place , Downhill Skiing, Lake Louise, Alberta
    3rd place, Downhill, Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
    7th , Super G, Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
    8th place, Slalom, Mont Orford , Quebec
2002
    4th place , Downhill Skiing, Whistler , British Columbia, Quebec
Résulats International Competitions 1988
    8th place , Downhill , Madonna di Campiglio , Italy
1989
    1st place , Downhill Aleyska , Alaska
1991
    9th place , Giant Slalom , Saalbach -Hinterglemm, Austria
1994
    1st place , Downhill , Saalbach -Hinterglemm, Austria
    5th place, Handset, Chamonix, France
    3rd place , Downhill Skiing, Lillehammer, Norway
    7th place , Downhill , Aspen, United States of America
    4th place , Downhill , Aspen, United States of America
    5th place, Downhill, Cail , United States of America
1995
    4th place , Downhill Kitzbühel , Austria
    7th place , Handset , Wengen, Switzerland
    5th place , Downhill , Saalbach -Hinterglemm, Austria
    4th , Super G , Whistler, British Columbia
    4th place, Downhill, Mont Ste- Anne , Quebec
    9th place , Giant Slalom , Whistler, British Columbia
    4th , Super G, El Colorado / Farellone , Chile
    10th place , Downhill Skiing, Vail, Colorado
    3rd place , Downhill , Bormio, Italy
1996
    5th place, Handset, Kitzbühel , Austria
    2nd place Super -G , Garmisch -Partenkirchen , Germany
    2nd place, Downhill, Mont Ste Anne , Quebec
    3rd place Slalom, Mont Garceau , Quebec
    2nd place Giant Slalom , Mont Garceau , Quebec
    4th place , Downhill , Bormio , Italy
1997
    10th place , Downhill Kitzbühel , Austria
    4th , Super G , Garmisch -Partenkirchen , Germany
    3rd place , Downhill Kvitfjell , Norway
    5th place, Downhill, Valle Nevado / LaParva , Chile
1998
    9th place , Downhill , Wengen, Switzerland
    3rd place, Handset, Kitzbühel , Austria
    1st place , Downhill , Jackson, Wyoming
1999
    3rd place, Downhill, Val Gardena, Italy
    10th place , Downhill Skiing, Val Gardena, Italy
2000
    3rd place , Downhill , Wengen, Switzerland
    5th place , Downhill , Bormio, Italy

## World Cup victories

| Date | Location | Race |
| 6 January 1994 | Saalbach | Downhill |