There’s no question Greg Poirier earned the honor to be inducted into the Maine Skiing Hall of Fame last Friday at the Lost Valley Ski Area.

The Rumford native develop a life’s passion on the slopes, and he is recognized both at the national and international level. Poirier’s last big endeavor was the head coach of the United States Nordic Ski Team that won a gold medal in the 2010 Olympic Winter games in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Poirier has participated in four Olympics Winter Games in some capacity. He was a member of the U.S. Ski Team (1988-1996) and was the head coach for the U.S. Ski Jumping Team in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France and the U.S. Nordic Combined Team at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

In 1997, Poirier coached Canada’s Nordic Combined Team as well as head of the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined National Training Center.

Poirier began skiing with the Chisolm Ski Club and graduated from Rumford High School in 1978.

Poirier has many memories of  jumping off a small ski jump built in Poirier’s backyard and practicing on the small ramp built between the trees.

Poirier praised his parents, Bernard and Lorraine, (lifelong Rumford residents) for having been extremely supportive in his athletic endeavors.

”My parents encouraged me to play many different sports,” Poirier said, in an earlier article. “But they realized that skiing was the sport that I had the greatest passion. My introduction to cross country was less memorable except for the day I went to get my skis. It’s almost surreal as I remember diving up Blanchard Street in Virginia section (Rumford) to some guys house.”

That ‘some guy’ was none other than Olympian Wendall ‘Chummy’ Broomball who pulled down an old pair of pine-tarred Splitter cross-country skis — and Poirier’s Nordic combined career began.

Poirier was influenced by many people, including Chummy and son Scott, neighborhood kids, cousins (Mike & Steve Mickeriz), Herb Adams, Chendy Chenard, Aurel Leger, Jeff Knight and many others who were teaching skiing to young members of the Chisolm Ski Club.

“Like today, younger athletes are influenced by many,” Poirier said. “But I think the greatest influence comes from the roll models in your sport. In my case, there were many in Rumford and Mexico to aspire. What a fantastic core of athletes to pave the way in Nordic skiing in USA.”

 Poirier earned a scholarship to New England College in Henniker, N.H. and graduated in 1982 with a bachelor of arts in business administration/physical education.