Canadian Olympian Erik Read reflects on family legacy and rollercoaster World Cup season after silver at U.S. Alpine Nationals in Vail
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
Erik Read comes from a long line of ski racers.
His mom, Lynda Robbins, was a Canadian national team skier, as were his two uncles. Even Grandma won a national title back in the day. But his dad, Ken — the first non-European to win at Hahnenkamm and Kitzbuhel and the first Canadian male to win a World Cup event in any summer or winter sport — is perhaps the most well-known athlete on the family tree.
“I’d always heard about it growing up,” Read said after finishing second in the giant slalom at the U.S. Alpine National Championships in Vail on Sunday. “But when I went over to Europe for the first time and you stick yourself right in the ski culture, you realize the gravity of what my dad in particular was able to accomplish with his World Cup wins.”
While the 34-year-old smiled and said he “didn’t have much of a choice” on participating in the sport, he still carved out his own path. His dad, a member of the “Crazy Canucks” of the 70s and 80s, was a daring speed skier. Erik, however, made two Olympic teams and five world championship squads as a slalom and GS guy.
“That’s how I always managed it. I was actually achieving better than he ever did in slalom and GS doing my own thing,” he said. “But, it was awesome having someone like him who was a ski racer, worked with FIS — he has a 360 view of ski racing. Whenever things got tough, he was a great person to turn to. Both of my parents.”
Support Local Journalism
This season wasn’t exactly easy for Read. After making “big changes” in the gym and with his nutrition, he came into the 2025-2026 season “lighter, but moving better.” The goal was simple: make it to Milan.
He scored his first World Cup points of the season at Copper Mountain in November. That 27th-place finish secured starts on the top circuit for the remainder of the winter, he said. Then, adversity struck: in five races between Dec. 13 and Jan. 18, Read finished within a tenth of a second from earning a second run.
“Great skiing, but when you don’t have anything to bring home, it starts to get tough,” said Read, who finished 32nd — nine hundredths off a second run — in the final GS Olympic qualifier in Adelboden on Jan. 10.
“That’s where it probably hit me the hardest,” he continued.
In the last World Cup before the 2026 Olympics, Read busted out a 20th in Schladming, Austria. But it was too late. His spot as an alternate (he ultimately never made it to Italy) was already decided.
“That was probably the most emotion I’ve felt in my ski racing career,” he said. “A sense of relief, but so much sadness. You’re fighting, fighting, fighting — so close — believing in your skiing and it comes so close.”
Instead of competing at the 25th Winter Olympiad, Read returned stateside for a few NorAm Cups. He went back to Europe for the Berchtesgaden, Germany Europa Cup, where he placed 11th on Feb. 14. A week later he was sixth in Norefjell, Norway. In late March, Read was back in Colorado, skiing to four top-10s at the Aspen Highlands NorAm series. He decided to stick around Vail, where the veteran navigated Sunday’s slush with poise and confidence.
“When you’re trying to just push in the fall line when there’s conditions like this or a rut — it’s not going to work the same,” he said after sliding up three places into the silver medal spot. “So, you have to adjust your tactics a little for conditions like this and I think that was relevant for my performance today.”
Read planned to stay through Tuesday’s slalom before heading home for Canadian nationals later this week.
“There are a bunch of different families that have given me a second home down here over the years and continue to do so,” he said, thanking the Krupkas and Leevers in particular. “I’m grateful and thankful for the people in this community, because it’s awesome here in Vail.”
