09/08/2026
This & That, Submitted by Elizabeth Rushton, Alberta WI
SHIRLEY AND SHARON FIRTH
Although they never won Olympic medals, these twin sisters who were born in Aklavik, NWT (which was only accessible by air, water, or ice) on December 31, 1953, to a mother who was a member of the Gwich’in First Nation and whose father was a Loucheaux-Métis set many cross-country skiing records. They had ten siblings, and while the children were still young, the family was moved to Inuvik, which had been constructed partly because of concerns about flooding and erosion in Aklavik. They had been taught to hunt, trap, and fish like most children in the area.
When they were only six years old, their mother was diagnosed with TB and had to be admitted to a hospital in Edmonton; they were enrolled in a residential boarding school. Over the years they often talked about their experiences at the school, but in spite of the hardships they endured, it did introduce them to a new passion – cross-country skiing.
Father Jean-Marie Mouchet, a French Catholic Missionary, was impressed by the athletic potential of the young hunters and trappers and with federal funding he established the TEST (Territorial Experimental Ski Training Program) program, which required young skiers to train for hours outside, even though that meant skiing in complete darkness and temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero in winter, and long runs across the tundra battling mosquitoes in summer. They believed it would motivate Indigenous youth and promote amateur sport, helping integrate those youth into Canadian society.
The sisters were natural athletes and wanted to see the world, and with their coach, Norwegian Bjorgen Petterson, they soon began competing in national and international cross-country ski competitions, where they quickly found success. At their first national debut at the Canadian Junior Cross-Country Championships in 1968, Shirley won silver, and Sharon won bronze. The next year, they won gold in various events in Canada, Alaska, and Sweden. They dominated the sport in Canada from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, winning 48 Canadian championships and 79 national medals – Shirley won 29 gold, 10 silver, and 3 bronze, while Sharon won 37 gold, 14 silver, and 4 bronze. After the 1972 Olympic Games, they moved to Banff, AB to continue their intense training, working various jobs to cover their expenses. They also found sponsorship from Dome Petroleum. Despite their obvious talent, they still faced some discrimination because of their background, but rather than get discouraged, they relied on each other and knew children back home looked up to them.
They also competed in many World Championships and 4 Olympic Games, and they are the only female Canadian skiers to have competed in four consecutive Winter Olympics (1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984). Although they never managed to win medals at the Olympic or World Championships, Sharon’s 26th place in the women’s 5k race at the 1972 Olympics remains a Canadian best (the event was discontinued after the 1988 Olympics and replaced by the 5/5km pursuit.
In 1984, after retiring from competitive skiing, Sharon settled in Yellowknife, NWT and eventually became a Youth Program Advisor for the territorial government, speaking in many communities on the positive influence of sports and trying to resurrect the TEST program.
Shirley retired in 1985, when she and her husband, Jan Larsson, moved to Paris, where they lived for over 20 years. She earned a teaching certificate from the University of Paris and spoke on the Dene and Inuit cultures in Scandinavia and central Europe. They moved back to the NWT in 2005, and at the time of her death from cancer in April 2013, she was Executive Assistant to the Speaker of the NWT Legislative Assembly.
The sisters received many awards, including being the first Indigenous women to be inducted into Canada’s Sports
Hall of Fame, the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame, and the NWT Sport Hall of Fame. They became Members of the Order of Canada in 1987. In 2017 Sharon received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Alberta and was also named an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health. In 2018 Canada Post issued a stamp in their honour.
