“Do you think that I could have got to where I am if I was a smoker?” Christine Nordhagen asked the Grade 4, 5, and 6 students present in the gymnasium of St. Mary of the Lake School last Thursday morning. “Do you think that I could have worked as hard as I did to get to the top podium if I was using tobacco?”
The Kinuso, Trout Lake, and St. Mary students present filled the gym with a resounding NO. After describing the hard work needed to become a pioneer in women’s wrestling, the kids thought it unlikely that smoking would have helped her.
She was 20 when she first wrestled – not the amplified antics of World Wrestling Entertainment, but real Olympic style wrestling. She started training when she was an education student at the University of Alberta. Since then, the 35-year-old mother-to-be has become the world’s most decorated female wrestler. She was recently (the first Canadian) inducted into the International Wrestling Hall of Fame in a ceremony held in China this past August.
She is also a six-time world champion, 10-time national champion, two-time Pan American champion, five-time Canadian female athlete of the year, and a member of the 2004 Canadian Olympic team in Athens, Greece.
Nordhagen has joined forces with other Canadian Olympians Clara Hughes, Becky Scott, and Kelly Bouchard to spread the message of staying tobacco free.
“I love coming out to the schools and giving presentations like this,” she says. “As an athlete, I think it’s my responsibility to give something back. Smoking continues to be a problem for our youth. I think it helps me relate to the kids because I’m from a small community like them. The message is to stay tobacco free I also want to show them that just because you’re from a small town doesn’t mean you can’t do great things.”
Indeed. Nordhagen hails from Valhalla Centre, a tiny farming community of just 57 souls 30 minutes outside Grande Prairie. She remembers being at the crossroads of whether to be like her friend and smoke. She chose wisely and encourages children to follow her lead.
“I was in Grade 7. I don’t know why, but I just knew it was something I didn’t want to do. I never ever thought the smokers were cool. We target (students) young because when they’re 18, 19, 20 years old they say, ‘Yeah, I wish I didn’t ever smoke.’ or ‘I’m going to have a baby,’ and find it too hard to quit.”
She explained to the youngsters how nicotine takes ever more control of a smoker. In fact, experts say nicotine addiction is just as hard to break as cocaine or heroin. Nordhagen says the outlook is getting better but 20 per cent of Alberta kids aged 12-17 smoke. Parents, she states, can do more to make sure they send the right message.
“How can a kid be expected to stay tobacco free when the parents are smoking at home?” she says. “Parents need to realize they are a big influence on their kids and have a responsibility to be a good role model. If you’re a smoking parent, you’re telling your kids it’s OK to smoke when schools and presenters all around the world are telling them otherwise.”
Talking about her time in Athens, she beams with pride to have personified northern Albertans. “Everyone is cheering for you when you march in with Team Canada and it’s sort of overwhelming. I felt really proud, especially coming from such a small town in northern Alberta, that I could be a representative for (students) and show them all that you can do this too if you make the right choices now.”

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