Posts Tagged ‘Jean Claude Killy’

More than any other of the Olympic Games, I really enjoyed watching the slalom racing.  I love seeing the amazing way they keep their upper body heading straight down the course, and their legs and feet flash back and forth as they fly through the gates.  It brought back memories of Jean Claude Killy.

Remember Killy?  He ruled the ski world in the late 60’s.  He went where nobody had gone before.  In one qualifying race he fell a couple hundred yards from the finish, bounced right back up, and finished the race… on one ski.  He had the fastest time- but had broken his leg!

He totally dominated the World Champion series and World Cup series in 1966 and 1967, then took all three gold medals in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France.

What I remember about Killy was his style.  Previous world-class skiers, like Stein Eriksen, had an amazingly graceful fluid style, sliding apparently effortlessly down the course.  Killy changed all that.  Reporters said he skied with “his typical hell-bent, devil-may-care style.”  He spread his skis apart!  He sometimes looked anything but graceful!  He pushed the limits so hard it looked like he was often out of control, but he’d somehow catch it and speed on.

What I like about this is his willingness to sacrifice the elegant form that had been the norm, and get down and zoom!  He was not afraid to move the lines, to cross boundaries that had been assumed inviolate.

So that makes me wonder: How can we do some of this in our lives?  Do we let people tell us it can’t be done?  How often do we question the traditional ways of doing things, and press on past that to REALLY get moving?

I think it’s important to decide what is really important to us, and step up to the gate, and make it happen!