The Basford Born Skiing Olympian

Part Two of a Nottingham-based preview (bygones) ahead of the upcoming, XXV Winter Olympics.

Later this week, the eyes of the sporting world will descend upon Milan-Cortina, in Northeast Italy, the venue(s) of the XXV Winter Olympics (running from Friday 6 February – Sunday 22 February 2026).

Primarily taking place in the majestic, Milan (a past home of one, Herbert Kilpin), the 2026 Olympics will also see events in the neighbouring Cortina (Cortina d’Ampezzo, the heart of the southern Dolomitic Alps), as well as the Valtellina (Lombardy) and Fiemme (Trentino) Valleys.

Here in Nottingham, there has been past connections to the Winter Olympics (first held in France a little over a century ago, 1924), connections that go beyond that stunning Bolero which claimed gold medal for the now Dame Jayne Christensen (Torvill) and Sir Christopher Dean.

One such athlete, of the skiing variety, is that of Basford-born, Terence ‘Terry’ Palliser, a difficult task in itself in a country having not been renowned for such a sporting discipline, however, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

And for Palliser, that would have likely come through his enlistment in HM Armed Forces (British Army), where he held the rank of Bombardier (Bdr), and going on to compete at the 1972 Olympic Games in Sapporo, Japan, at the Makomanai Cross Country Events Site.

It would be with them that he would enjoy the fruits of the Army Winter Sports Association, founded in the late 1940s, with the focus, throughout the sixties and seventies being on the Nordic Sports, particularly cross-country skiing.

Enlisting in the mid-sixties, Palliser’s military career last through till 1981, and it would be through this he’d partake in excursions to say, the Scottish Highlands, or even overseas and, in the run-up to the ’72 Games, Palliser, now in his late seventies, would enjoy training in Norway (Mordseter, nr, Lillehammer), doing so on 20km practice courses with the local, Norwegian teams.

Come the Olympic Games, Palliser would find himself being one of just three, British athletes, participating in the cross-country event, doing so alongside Peter Strong and Harold Tobin (15km), and Keith Oliver (30km), with a finishing position of 59th and 55th respectively.

The 30km race was up first (4 February 1972), Vyacheslav Vedenin (Soviet Union, gold), Pal Tyldum and Johs Harviken (Norway, silver and bronze) filling the top three, with Palliser coming in 55th following a time of 1:54:39:41 (Oliver finished 54th with a time of 1:54:10;60).

This was followed three days later by the 15km event (7 February 1972) was won by Sven-Åke Lundbäck (Sweden), with Fyodor Simashov (Soviet Union, silver), and Ivar Formo (Norway, bronze) taking the medals, Palliser finishing 59th with a time 54:11:98, in what was a British one-two-three (Strong 60th 54:41:99, and Tobin 61st 56:05:05).

Although Palliser served closed to twenty years in the Army, in both the Royal Artillery and the Physical Training Corps, it seems his winter sporting endeavours were restricted to just that, competing at the ’72 Games, there being no particular records of such pre-or-post Olympics.

After leaving the Army, Palliser joined the Warwickshire Police, and is said to have continued skiing as part of the police athletic programs, winning competitions which included the at the Police Athletic Association international skiing event in Germany, in 1993.

The 2026 Winter Olympics takes place in Milan-Cortina between 6-22 February, with the figure skating competitions running between the 6-19 February, at the Milano Ice Skating Arena (Forum di Milano).