December 10, 2009 – On Wednesday, Peggy Austin, 91, the daughter of the legendary Herman Smith “Jackrabbit” Johanssen, known as the father of Nordic skiing in North America, was honored to carry the Olympic Torch as it passed through Mont Tremblant, QC, on its way to Vacouver. Austin herself was an accomplished skier during her heyday in the 1930s winning the Canadian Ski Championships in 1937 and would have been on Canada’s Olympic team in 1940, but the Second World War caused the Games to be cancelled – read more here.

The legendary “Jackrabbit” who skied up to the age of 104 and died at 112 cut many of the cross-country ski trails in Quebec and was instrumental in developing the sport in North America. SkiTrax international correspondent and renowned action sports announcer, Peter Graves, interviewed Johanssen a couple of times. At the first “unofficial” cross-country World Cup at Telemark Lodge, in Cable, WI, in 1978 the “Jackrabbit” was on hand to hand out the medals and give an impressive banquet speech.

“I was told he would do hand stands at banquets until he was about 100, but the most impressive thing was his keen mind and sharp blue eyes. We even went out and skied that day. I’ll never forget him and that special moment in time,” said Graves. His interview with “Jackrabbit” was aired on ESPN. It was one of two occasions that Graves interviewed, the famous pioneer who was born in Norway in 1875 and came to Canada with his family during the Depression – read more on Herman Smith “Jackrabbit” Johansson here.