Clarence Servold
Cross Country/Nordic Combined Skiing Athlete - Inducted 1990
Clarence Servold joined the Camrose Ski Club in the early 1940s and with other members organized many local, provincial, and national competitions. In 1955 through commitment and dedication, he won the 15km and 30km Canadian Cross-Country titles as well as the Nordic Combined title. He was selected for the 1956 Olympic Ski Team. He placed nineteenth in the 15km Cross-Country event and twenty-second in the 50km event -- the highest record placing for a North American Cross-Country skier at that time and only challenged thirty-two years later at the 1988 Olympics. In 1964, Clarence Servold won the Canadian title in the 15km cross-country event in the seniors division.
After Induction
Clarence Servold served as an ambassador for the sport by making trips to inspect venues across the world for possible future World and Olympic Games. He was the first Canadian representative on the Cross Country Committee of the World Ski Federation. He assisted in the Calgary Olympic Development Association bid for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. In 1988, he was honoured for his dedication to the sport of skiing by lighting the Olympic Flame at the Canmore Nordic Centre. Clarence Servold is a lifetime member of the Camrose Ski Club, a member of the Camrose Lions Hall of Fame, Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and the Calgary Olympic Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the University of Denver Athletic Hall of Fame in November 2004. The Denver Post in a 1958 article described Servold as “the best cross-country man in college history”. He became the first two-time NCAA Cross Country Champion in 1959, and earned All-American honours in 1958 and 1959.
2019 - Passed away on February 2nd at the age of 91
