Ski Radio - When I interviewed Phil Mahre & Felix Belczyk
The Jeep King of the Mountain Downhill pro ski race at Sugarbush was broadcast live on the radio in 1998. I got to interview Phil Mahre and Felix Belczyk. The lead commentator was Ken Squier.
Have you ever listened to ski racing on the radio? Seems kind of a far-out concept in today's world when we can watch just about any event the same day on our phones. Audio coverage when done right is quite good. I got to interview ski racing legends Phil Mahre & Felix Belczyk, while working for a broadcasting legend.
I was working at a small, independent radio station in Vermont owned by the great NASCAR hall of famer, Ken Squier. He called a group of staff into his office one day and said, “I want to do live broadcasts of skiing on the radio. The Jeep King of the Mountain Downhill is coming to Sugarbush and the NCAA Ski Championships are coming to Stowe and we’re going to air these as they happen.”
I wasn’t sure at first if he was serious, as he was pretty good at floating out comments in jest to enjoy the response. Skiing on the airwaves, no visual? But this man was a broadcasting pioneer and genius and knew exactly what he was doing. Even collegiate cross-country skiing at 15 or 20 kilometer races made sense when Squier was describing the scene.
The Jeep King of the Mountain Downhill Series was a touring competition of ski racing’s best downhill racers, retired from Olympic and World Cup competition. We put together 90 minutes of radio coverage with Ken Squier and former US Ski Team member and collegiate giant slalom champion, Sally Knight Utter anchoring. I was part of the reporting team. I have an old cassette tape, yes cassette, of the whole thing and listened to it the other day. The year was 1998.
The field of competitors on this day was a who’s who of skiing: Phil Mahre, Doug Lewis, Stephen Lee, Silvano Meli, Peter Wirnsberger, Felix Belczyk, Martin Fiala, Franz Heinzer, Leonhard Stock, Martin Bell, Rob Boyd and Michael Veith. They were competing for season-long prize winnings of $750,000. Sugarbush was the only Eastern stop on the tour.
Doug Lewis was the hometown favorite. Former Olympian and world cup racer, Lewis was born in nearby Middlebury and coached at Green Mountain Valley School at Sugarbush. Lewis won the first race of the season at Mammoth. Felix Belczyk won the next 2 at Beaver Creek and Jackson Hole.
Coming into the fourth race at Sugarbush, Franz Heinzer of Switzerland, Belczyk of Canada and Martin Fiala of Germany were the top 3 in the points standings. Switzerland was leading the team competition followed by Canada and the US. Team USA had a change in the lineup this week. Olympic medalist Billy Johnson was replaced by Olympic medalist Phil Mahre. Rounding out the team standings were Team Commonwealth (England and Australia), Austria and then Germany.
The 90 minutes of coverage unfolded with 2 runs per skier and plenty of detail about the skiers and the series, told as only a master storyteller like Squier could do. I was down in the crowd, wrestling for position to interview the racers as they came off the course. To catch Doug Lewis with my microphone proved impossible as the local fans swept him away in support after each run.
One of the skiers I grew up cheering for, Phil Mahre paused between runs for a very brief interview.
The winning run of the day? Felix Belczyk took the top of the podium for the third time in the series. But his run was a bit concerning for his future in the series, as my interview with him revealed.
The top 5 final standings for the Sugarbush leg of the 1998 Jeep King of the Mountain Downhill Series:
Felix Belczyk - 1:14.47 combined time.
Martin Fiala - I'm missing the combined time, but his second run was 57.41.
Peter Wirnsberger - 1:14.85
Franz Heinzer – 1:14.95
Doug Lewis - 1:16.21
The next time you watch ski racing, try closing your eyes. Hear if they relay the scene as clearly as the radio.
I'm thankful for the chance to spend time with all these greats.