The Downhill Battle
Brian Stemmle’s Journey Beyond the Slopes
Written by Lucas Yang | Edited by Isabella Della Ganna & Marc Louie
It’s a dreary Sunday morning as Brian Stemmle, one of Canada’s greatest downhill skiers, drives his kids to a basketball tournament at the Pan Am Centre in Mississauga and finds himself reflecting on his storied career and the mental anguish that came with it.
Stemmle was born in Aurora, Ont., and was a member of the Canadian National Team from 1985 to 1999. In those 14 years, he competed at the 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998 Winter Olympic Games.
In 1989, Stemmle faced one of the most daunting hills in all of professional skiing, in Kitzbühel, Austria.
Little did he know, he wouldn’t be leaving the ski hill with a medal around his neck but rather a broken pelvis and a trip to the nearest hospital.
Five days in a drug-induced coma, 25 blood transfusions, five operations, and a broken pelvis later, Stemmle found himself at the beginning of a two-and-a-half-month stint in an Austrian hospital. With not only the hopes of once again competing, but with the hopes of staying alive.
He was in such bad shape that his family was unable to tell him apart from the two other individuals in his ward. When reflecting on his time in the hospital, Stemmle had one goal in mind.
“I just wanted the pain to go away first, and be able to walk again,” he said
Photo by Diether Endlicher/Associated Press
Through this, Stemmle took an interesting approach to his rehabilitation. His mind was never on whether he was going to get out of the hospital and compete again, but rather on staying present mentally with every movement and aspect of his recovery. Mentally, he would set minor goals for himself to accomplish, eventually leading to his ultimate goal of walking again.
“Each day I would set a goal of walking once around my ward, and if I felt good, maybe the next day I would walk around twice,” Stemmle said.
Though the primary goal was to be able to walk again, ski racing never left his mind. Once Stemmle started to see gradual improvements in his physical abilities, getting back on the ski hill transitioned from a distant dream to an attainable reality.
“Ski racing was never out of my mind; I never said I didn’t want to do it again because I nearly killed myself,” he said.
Photo by The Canadian Press/COC
Fast forward a year, and Stemmle is not only back racing again, but he wins gold at the Pan American Cup. A remarkable feat, given that only a year prior he didn’t even know if he was going to live. He recalls a moment when he returned to his hotel following the race and went to the common room to eat lunch, and everybody stood up and clapped for him.
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“That was the biggest moment for me when I had the recognition for what I had done for my teammates and coaches, that was a really great moment,” he said.
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Following his comeback to skiing, Stemmle found himself back in Kitzbühel at the same hill where he had his accident. When asked about what he remembers from that experience, his answer was simple: “Everything.”
“I could remember the smell of the schnitzel and all the stale beer from the people on the gondola,” he said.
When it came to skiing the hill, Stemmle described it as “mental torment.” His best finish in Kitzbühel following his accident was 14th place, but he describes this 14th-place finish as the biggest accomplishment of his career.
Though Stemmle’s career consisted of constant mental struggle following competitions, he never sought any help with his mental health after events. All Stemmle’s efforts towards his mental game came prior to or during competition. One strategy he adopted was an anchor word that would help him while on the hill, thanks to the help of performance psychologist Dana Sinclair.
“During my runs, I would always say ‘don’t fall, don’t fall,’ and Dana helped me switch that perspective to a more positive word. So instead I used to just tell myself ‘forward, forward.’ Through that, I could get my body in a more balanced position, which would kind of take care of the fear of falling.”
Stemmle decided to hang up his skis in 1999 following yet another accident in Kitzbühel, which indicated to him that he was no longer able to compete in the sport. Three weeks later, he raced one more World Championship, and at the end of the year won a Canadian Championship, deciding this was the right time to retire from skiing. He jokes that himself, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and John Elway all retired in the same year, so he considers himself part of a pretty prestigious club.
Retirement brought its own set of challenges for Stemmle, as it does for many athletes who step out of the competitive spotlight. However, he filled a competitive need after retiring through intramural sports that still fueled his drive. He started a career in TV broadcasting, which kept him close to a community he was familiar with, giving him a sense of mental stability.
“I don’t know what the heck I would have done if I didn’t have a job in TV,” Stemmle said.
When asked about what advice he would give to the next generation of athletes struggling with mental health in athletics, Stemmle’s message is simple: “Get help.”
“The biggest thing for me was knowing that I wasn’t going crazy, and my feelings were valid.” he said.
Stemmle’s story represents a strong message to those working towards mental clarity, whether in sport or everyday life. Mental health is not something you can fix overnight. It is a slow and, in Stemmle’s situation, painful process to endure. As Stemmle said, setting small goals for yourself as he did in Kitzbühel is the most efficient way to get to where you want to be. His mental resilience and toughness to return and compete in the sport that almost took his life show that fortune favours the brave, and facing your fears will help you conquer your dreams.