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February 27th, 2006
Duff Gibson, a member of IAFF Local 255 Calgary Alberta, won gold in the men's skeleton event at the Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy on February 17,2006.
Edging out a fellow Canadian, Duff went on to win the gold medal in the Men�s Skeleton event during competition on Feb. 17, setting a track record in the process.
Mark Faires, President of IAFF Local 255 Calgary, said his members are jubilant over Gibson's win.
"We've been rooting for him many years. Duff's a well-respected professional among his peers in Calgary and he's obviously a dedicated athlete," Faires said, noting Gibson's physical abilities are amazing.
"He's a pretty impressive guy when you see him working out, and he's a good fire fighter, so we're really excited for him. We're bouncing off the walls here."
Gibson, 39 works out of Calgary�s No. 27 Firehall, which serves the city�s airport. He only took up the sport at age 32, but won the world title in 2004.
Faires said despite the heavy training and competition schedule, Gibson always puts his job as a fire fighter first. The entire local, and the Calgary Fire Department, have been extremely supportive of him as he pursued his dreams. Fellow fire fighters, for example, covered shifts for him to accommodate his schedule.
The skeleton sport involves a thrilling face-first slide down an icy track at speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour. The object is to keep as straight a path as possible through the course�s twists and turns.
In a 2005 interview with the IAFF Canadian Journal, Gibson discussed his growing reputation in the sport, and pondered his chances at the Olympics. �It�s a technical track with 19 turns, which is on the high side. Steering around turns is one of my strengths, so I�ve got an edge over some of my competition.�
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