Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Oct 18/02) - Sharon Firth has walked the walk.

Being one of Canada's most experienced Olympians -- she and twin sister Shirley each competed in Nordic skiing in four winter Olympics -- the Aklavik-born athlete now spends much of her time trying to inspire youth.

Firth, a youth programs advisor for Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA), and fellow motivational speaker Mike Ryan made stops in Fort Liard, Wrigley, Jean Marie River and Fort Simpson last week.

While addressing junior high students in Fort Simpson, she reflected on her prodigious skiing success, but stressed that she was no different from anybody else in the room.

"I'm just like one of you," she said. "It's just that I happened to make good choices."

While she and Shirley were kids, a Canadian Olympic ski coach visiting Inuvik noticed their potential. He took them under his wing and they trained hard whether it was raining or -40 C, Sharon recalled. Their talent and dedication earned them many travel opportunities, including glacial training in Europe.

"It wasn't easy," Sharon said of life on the road, but she added that she managed to complete most of her school work while travelling.

Over the years, Sharon and Shirley, pushing each other to greater heights, amassed more than 80 Canadian championship medals between them.

They competed in their first Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, in 1972. Sharon was just 17 years old. The talented sisters went on to compete in the Innsbruck games four years later; the Lake Placid winter Olympics in 1980; and the Sarajevo games in 1984.

Sharon's best placing was 21st.

She encouraged the students to live healthy lifestyles, eschewing alcohol, cigarettes and junk food. Although she admitted that they're not necessarily going to become Olympic athletes, she said they can accomplish many things.

"As long as you think positive and believe in yourself, anything can happen," she said. "You have to make a commitment. You have to work at it."