Canadian bobsleigh
athlete. Selected by Vic Emery as a member of Canada's
gold medal-winning four-man bobsleigh team at the 1964
Winter Olympics. Anakin was also one of the driving forces
behind the Canadian luge program. He has been inducted
into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Olympic
Hall of Fame.
During his 35 years of teaching, Doug taught and
coached 19 years at John Abbott College in Montreal
retiring in 1990. Because of his involvement at the
school, his commitment to his community, and his passion
for outdoor activities, the school established the
"Doug Anakin Scholarship for Outdoor Pursuits"
which is presented annually to a student who best
demonstrates Doug’s traits.
Today, Doug is retired living in British Columbia with
his wife Mary Jean, a Nova Scotian, whom he met in
Montreal and married in 1964. They have two daughters,
both school teachers, and four grandchildren who share
with their grandparents a love of the snow, the water, and
the hiking trails.
- 1952-1961
- Attended Queen’s University where he was on
the wrestling team. After graduation, taught
high school and coached around Ontario including 1
year (1958-59) at Chatham Collegiate.
After one year teaching in London, England, where
he skied all winter and mountain climbed all
summer in Austria, he taught school in Windsor and
skiing in Michigan.
- 1961-1962
- Doug returned to Europe where he joined up with
John and Vic Emery whom he had met at university
and who were bobsledding in Germany.
Doug also became involved with Canadian Purvis
McDougal and became one of first luge racers to
represent Canada internationally.
- 1962-1967
- Continued teaching at Mount Royal High School in
Montreal, coached football, wrestling, and skiing.
During winter of 1963 he competed in bobsled and
luge in Austria and Lake Placid. In
1964 joined bobsled team in Cortina, Italy for
training and then to Innsbruck, Austria for luge
training.
- February 1964 Doug competed at Innsbruck, along
with Vic Emery, John Emery, and Peter Kirby,
winning the Olympic Gold Medal in four-man
bobsled, a sport dominated by the Europeans at
that time. After competing in luge
event he was forced to drop out after 2 runs due
to minor injuries and conflict with bobsled.
- After the Olympics, he continued to represent
Canada in bobsled, most notably in the 1967 North
American Championships at Lake Placid and the
World Championships at Cortina, Italy. After
retiring from competition, he began to promote
luge by coaching and helping to design luge tracks
in Canada. Doug looked after a group of
Canadian athletes at the 1970 Olympics in Munich,
Germany and he coached the Canadian Luge Team at
the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.
The Bobsleigh 1964 Winter Olympics results
in Innsbruck, Austria.
|
Austria
(Erwin
Thaler, Adolf
Koxeder,Josef
Nairz,R.Durnthaler
