1988 Calgary Winter Games
1,634 Athletes, 57 Countries, 46 Events
The 1988 Games involved a series of firsts for the Ivy League and
the Winter Olympics. To start with, 1988 marked the first time that
the Winter Olympics were held in Canada, a traditional winter
sports powerhouse. Additionally, the Winter Games were, for the
first time, stretched to include three weekends. Also, the 1988
fourman bobsled competition featured the debut of the Jamaican
bobsled team, what would later be fodder for a Walt Disney motion
picture 'Cool Runnings.'
For the Ivy League, 1988 was the first time that a female skier
made the trek from Hanover to the Olympics. In fact, 1988 saw two
Dartmouth women ski for the United States. The tradition of male
skiers had been in place since the inception of the Winter Games in
1928. Martha Hill '86 and Leslie A.
Thompson '86 skied for the American team. Hill won a
bronze medal in the modified giant slalom event.
The Calgary Olympics also marked the first time an Ivy Leaguer
competed in a toboggan (luge) race. Cameron 'Cammy'
Myler (Dartmouth, 1992) placed ninth in the women's luge
singles event. She would return to the Olympics three more
times.
Paul Stanton Wylie (Harvard, 1991) was the
first Harvard figure skater to compete in the Winter Games since
John Misha Petkevich '73 in the 1972 Sapporo
Games. Before Petkevich, one figure skater from Cambridge, male or
female, had always been present at the Olympic games. He finished
in 10th place at Calgary, but improved tremendously to win the
silver medal at the 1992 Albertville Games. Wylie would then have a
long professional career, skating with the Stars on Ice tour full
time until 1998.
In other sports, Jim Herberich (Harvard, 1985)
and Dan LaVigne (Harvard, 1989) were on the U.S.
bobsled team. After taking 1992 off, Herberich would return for the
1994 Lillehammer and 1998 Nagano Games.
Dartmouth sent three men to the U.S. skiing team:
William W. Hudson '88, Dennis R.
McGrane '84, and Gale H. Shaw, III '85.
Shaw finished 12th in the giant slalom and 18th in the super giant
slalom. Their Dartmouth Outing Club teammate, William K.
Carow '80, was on the US biathlon team at the 1988 Games.
He competed in the 10- and 20-kilometer races.
Finally, three Ivy Leaguers were on the U.S. Ice Hockey team:
Allen Bourbeau (Harvard, 1989), Scott
Fusco (Harvard, 1986), and Lane MacDonald
(Harvard, 1989). All three would be finalist for the Hobey Baker
award, given to the top collegiate hockey player, but Fusco is the
only one to win (1986).
| Name |
School |
Sport |
| William K. Carow |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Biathlon |
| Martha Hill Gaskill |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Alpine Skiing |
| William W. Hudson |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Alpine Skiing |
| Dennis R. McGrane |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Ski Jumping |
| Cameron 'Cammy' Myler |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Luge |
| Gale H. Shaw, III |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Alpine Skiing |
| Leslie A. Thompson |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Nordic Skiing |
| Allen Bourbeau |
Harvard University |
Men's Ice Hockey |
| Scott Fusco |
Harvard University |
Men's Ice Hockey |
| Jim Herberich |
Harvard University |
Men's Bobsled |
| Dan LaVigne |
Harvard University |
Men's Bobsled |
| Lane MacDonald |
Harvard University |
Men's Ice Hockey |
| Paul Stanton Wylie |
Harvard University |
Men's Figure Skating |