Christopher Del Bosco

Last updated
Christopher Del Bosco
FIS Ski Cross World Cup 2015 - Megeve - 20150313 - Christopher Delbosco.jpg
Del Bosco in 2015
Personal information
Born (1982-03-30) March 30, 1982 (age 42)
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight210 lb (95 kg)
Website chrisdelbosco.com
Sport
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Sport Ski cross
Medal record
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Men's Freestyle skiing
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2011 Deer Valley Ski cross
Winter X Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Aspen Ski cross
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 Aspen Ski cross
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2011 Aspen Ski cross
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Aspen Ski cross
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2016 Aspen Ski cross

Christopher Del Bosco (born March 30, 1982), is an American-born, Canadian freestyle skier who currently resides in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Del Bosco is a member of the Canadian national ski cross team. He is the reigning FIS World Champion and X Games champion in ski cross and has four other medals from the X Games including one gold, one silver, and two bronze. Del Bosco was a United States national champion prior to switching to the Canadian team.

Contents

Career

Del Bosco was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado but was raised in Vail, Colorado. Prior to joining the Canadian freestyle ski team, he had problems with substance and alcohol abuse that had led to him being stripped of two US national titles, and at age 21 was discovered drunk in a ditch with a broken neck. [1] His sister, Heather, convinced him to go into rehab. This saved him from going to jail for another year. After this he received an offer from the Canadian ski team who had heard about Del Bosco and his Canadian passport, as Del Bosco's father was Canadian. Del Bosco was offered a spot on the team despite the character risks he carried with him and Del Bosco then agreed to join the Canadians. [2]

He went on from there and built on his success with the Canadian ski team. In 2006 at the Winter X-Games he won a bronze medal in the ski-cross event. [3] During the 2009–10 Freestyle Skiing World Cup he won two world cup events, one on the Alpe D'Huez and in Lake Placid. [4] Del Bosco ended the season second overall on the World Cup rankings.

At the 2010 Winter X Games Del Bosco attended as a warm up to the Olympics. There he won gold in the ski cross final, leading a Canadian sweep of the medals with Dave Duncan and Brady Leman. This was the first time that the medals have been swept in a round other than by US athletes. [5]

Del Bosco was a member of the Canadian team going to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. [6] He made the men's ski cross final, and was in strong position to win a bronze medal, but fell shortly before the finish line while trying to make a pass. After the race at a press conference Del Bosco had said that "Third, I guess it's all right for some people, but I wanted to give 100% for my sport, my country." [7]

After his disappointing Olympics Del Bosco had surgery in May 2010. During the next season he achieved success at the Winter X Games when he won the silver medal in ski cross. [8] Del Bosco then went on to the 2011 World Championships where he won his first World Championship. [9] Del Bosco said of his victory that "This is a really special title to have, you only get the chance once every two years. I had some tough luck at the last world championships in Japan and then (last year's) Olympics, I was fourth in both of those events. I was kind of starting to wonder about these big events and I guess the third time is the charm. I managed to get it done this time." [9]

The next season brought a continued gold rush for Del Bosco, with his third gold medal at a major competition in as many years. He went on to win the gold at the XVI Winter X Games finishing in first while teammate Duncan finished in third. Del Bosco was proud of his victory despite a world cup season with limited success, "It's amazing, this is my favourite event," said Del Bosco in a statement. "I have had an up and down season and this one was the big one on my list. So to come in and grab gold is pretty special." [10]

Personal life

Del Bosco moved to Montreal in the spring of 2011. He also started competing in a second sport, downhill mountain biking. [11]

Del Bosco began drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana regularly as a teenager. In December 2004, he blacked out in a creek bed after a drinking binge, breaking his neck. He survived because a stranger happened to see him. Del Bosco quit drinking in September 2006. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ski cross</span> Type of skiing competition

Ski cross is a skiing competition which incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle skiing with courses which include big-air jumps and high-banked turns. In spite of the fact that it is a timed racing event, it is often considered a type of freestyle skiing. What sets ski cross apart from other alpine skiing disciplines is that it involves more than one skier racing down the course. Any intentional contact with other competitors like grabbing or any other forms of contact meant to give the competitor an advantage leads to disqualification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada at the Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Canada has competed at every Winter Olympic Games, and has won at least one medal each time. By total medals, the country's best performance was in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games where Canadian athletes won 29 medals. Canada set a new record for most gold medals won by a country in a single Winter Olympics with 14 at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. This achievement surpassed the previous record of 13 gold medals held by the Soviet Union (1976) and Norway (2002). Both Germany and Norway matched the record total of 14 gold medals in Pyeongchang in 2018. This record has since been surpassed by Norway with 16 at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Heil</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Jennifer Heil is a Canadian freestyle skier from Spruce Grove, Alberta. Heil started skiing at age two. Jennifer Heil won the first gold medal for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics games in Turin, Italy and a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which was also Canada's first medal in those games. Heil is the reigning world champion in dual moguls. She has three world championship titles in total and two silver medals from the Worlds as well. Over her career, Heil has won a record-tying five overall FIS World Cup Crystal Globe titles for freestyle skiing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maëlle Ricker</span> Canadian snowboarder

Maëlle Danica Ricker is a Canadian retired snowboarder, who specialised in snowboard cross. She won an Olympic gold medal in the snowboard cross event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, to become the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal on home soil at the Olympics. She is also the 2013 World Champion and two-time Winter X Games Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian McKeever</span> Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete

Brian McKeever is a Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete, who became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won his 14th medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. He finished the 2018 Games with a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals, making him the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever. McKeever claimed a 16th Paralympic gold medal in the men's para cross-country middle distance vision impaired race at Beijing 2022, drawing him level with the German para-alpine racer Gerd Schönfelder for the most men's Winter Paralympic wins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandre Bilodeau</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Alexandre Bilodeau is a Canadian retired freestyle skier from Rosemere, Quebec, Bilodeau currently resides in Montreal, Quebec. Bilodeau won a gold medal in the men's moguls at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, becoming the first Canadian to win a gold medal at an Olympic Games held in Canada. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, he became the first Olympian in history to defend his gold medal in any freestyle skiing event as well as the first Canadian to defend an individual title since Catriona Le May Doan at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Bilodeau is a three-time FIS World Champion in dual moguls, and is also a two-time Worlds silver medallist in moguls. He was the FIS World Cup champion for the 2008–09 season winning the moguls and overall freestyle skiing title that season. In his final World Cup race, he retired with a win, and in doing so, surpassed Jean-Luc Brassard for the most World Cup medals by a Canadian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashleigh McIvor</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Ashleigh McIvor DeMerit is a Canadian retired freestyle skier currently residing in Whistler, British Columbia. McIvor was a member of the Canadian national ski cross team and became the first gold medal winner of women's ski cross at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She is also a former world champion in ski cross and has a second-place finish at the Winter X Games to her credit as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Hayer</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Stanley Hayer is a Canadian freestyle skier of Czech descent who currently resides in Kimberley, British Columbia. Stanley Hayer is a member of the Canadian national ski cross team.

Davey Barr is a Canadian freestyle skier currently residing in Whistler, British Columbia. Davey Barr is a member of the Canadian national ski cross team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Murray</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Julia Murray is a Canadian retired freestyle skier and resides in Whistler, British Columbia. Murray was a member of the Canadian national ski cross team for 6 years. She was a FIS World Championships silver medalist in 2011. She competed in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games for the debut of Ski Cross and came 12th with an injured knee. As a result of her knee injuries, Murray retired from competitive sport in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelsey Serwa</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Kelsey Serwa is a Canadian retired freestyle skier who was a member of the Canadian national ski cross team. She won a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She is the 2011 FIS World Champion and two times Winter X Games champion. In addition, she has won a bronze medal at the 2010 X Games.

Winter X Games XIV were held from January 28 to January 31, 2010, in Aspen, Colorado. They were the 9th consecutive Winter X Games to be held in Aspen. The events were broadcast on ESPN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanny Smith</span> Swiss freestyle skier

Fanny Smith is a Swiss freestyle skier. She represented Switzerland at the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Olympics. As of January 2023, she has 29 victories and 67 podiums on the World Cup circuit. She won gold at the World Championships in Voss in 2013. Smith won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikaël Kingsbury</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Mikaël Kingsbury is a freestyle skier from Quebec. He is the most accomplished mogul skier of all time. He achieved eminence early in his career after earning the 2009–10 FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year award. He is a ten-time FIS Freestyle World Cup title-holder for overall moguls and nine-time title-holder for overall freestyle, owning the records for most men's Moguls World Cup titles and Overall Freestyle World Cup titles. He also owns the records for career World Cup moguls victories with 78, and consecutive Freestyle World Cup event wins with 13. He is the first man to have won both the moguls and dual moguls World Championship events, and has won the most medals at the Freestyle World Championships of any male competitor in history, having won a medal in 13 of the 14 events he has competed in. Kingsbury won the Olympic silver medal in 2014 and 2022, and, at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, he won the gold medal in men's moguls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justine Dufour-Lapointe</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Justine Dufour-Lapointe is a Canadian freestyle skier. She was the Olympic champion in the moguls event at the 2014 Winter Olympics and won a silver medal in moguls at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The gold and silver she and her sister Chloe Dufour-Lapointe won in 2014 was the first time that Canadian sisters stood together on the podium, and the fourth time ever by all nations. In winning the Olympics, she became the youngest freestyle skiing Olympic champion ever at nineteen years of age. Dufour-Lapointe was the FIS World Cup rookie of the year for the 2010–11 season. Dufour-Lapointe was the world champion in moguls at the 2015 World Championships has also won a silver and two other bronze medals in the moguls event at the Freestyle World Ski Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marielle Thompson</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Marielle Thompson is a Canadian freestyle skier specializing in ski cross. She is the 2014 Winter Olympic and 2019 World champion in women's ski cross, as well as a three-time FIS World Cup Crystal Globe winner as the top-ranked athlete in that discipline and the 2013 Junior World champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dara Howell</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Dara Howell is a Canadian freestyle skier. She was the first freestyle skier to win a gold medal in ski slopestyle at the inaugural event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Howell has also won a bronze medal in women's slopestyle at the Winter X Games XVII in Aspen, Colorado, behind Tiril Sjåstad Christiansen and Kaya Turski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Canada competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, from February 7 to 23, 2014. Canadians competed in every discipline except Nordic combined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brady Leman</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Brady Leman is a Canadian freestyle skier specializing in ski cross, and the reigning Olympic champion in that discipline following his victory in the ski cross event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassie Sharpe</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Cassie Sharpe is a Canadian freestyle skier. Sharpe became the Olympic champion in women's halfpipe after winning gold in Pyeongchang, South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She won a silver medal at the 2015 World Championships in halfpipe in Kreischberg and won gold and bronze in superpipe at the Winter X Games in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

References

  1. ↑ "Fully Focused: Chris Del Bosco". CTV News. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  2. ↑ "Del Bosco's awakening". NBC Sports. 17 December 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  3. ↑ Chris Del Bosco's website & profile Archived 2010-02-24 at the Wayback Machine . Chrisdelbosco.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-22.
  4. ↑ Randy Phillips (25 January 2010). "Golden ski cross team end season on high note". Ottawa Citizen . Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  5. ↑ "Canadian men sweep X Games ski cross". Montreal Gazette. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  6. ↑ "Elation, heartbreak highlight freestyle Olympic team". CBC News. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  7. ↑ "Spectacular crash dashes Del Bosco dreams". Toronto Sun. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  8. ↑ Gary Kingston (2 February 2011). "Serwa hurtin' but good as gold". Vancouver Sun . Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  9. 1 2 "Del Bosco, Serwa win ski cross worlds". CBC Sports. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  10. ↑ "Del Bosco takes X Games ski cross gold, Duncan 3rd". CBC Sports. 29 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Del Bosco profile". ESPN . Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  12. ↑ Stroup, Matt (17 December 2009). "Del Bosco's awakening". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 February 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.