Kelsey Serwa

Last updated

Kelsey Serwa
Kelsey Serwa 2014-06-06.jpg
Kelsey Serwa in Calgary, 2014
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Born (1989-09-01) September 1, 1989 (age 33)
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Ski clubBC Ski Cross
World Cup career
Seasons10 – (20092014, 20162019)
Individual wins8
Indiv. podiums20
Indiv. starts83
Overall titles0 – (7th in 2011)
Discipline titles0 – Ski cross (3rd in 2009, 2011)

Kelsey Serwa (born September 1, 1989) 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.

Contents

Competitive career

Serwa won a national championship in 2009 at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, defeating world champion Ashleigh McIvor. [1] Serwa won her first world cup event on January 13, 2009 at the Alpe d'Huez course after these finals were canceled on the 2009–10 Freestyle Skiing World Cup. [2] Serwa won her first outright world cup race later that season at Lake Placid on January 24, 2010. [3]

At the 2010 Winter X Games two weeks before the Olympics, Serwa managed to win a bronze at the famous cash event, fellow countrywoman Ashleigh McIvor had finished second. [4] Serwa was a member of the Canadian Olympic team that competed in Vancouver in her home province of British Columbia. Serwa's bronze at the Winter X Games and third overall ranking on the world cup put her in as a medal favourite at the Olympics in Vancouver. She advanced to the semi-finals, but finished third in her heat and did not make the medal final. However, she competed in the "small final", which she won, finishing fifth overall.

During the next season Serwa won the gold at the X Games with a dramatic finish flying 150 feet in the air and crashing out badly injured, but the champion. [5] Serwa carried her X Games winning momentum into the 2011 World Championships. There she qualified as the fourth fastest skier, Serwa then went on to finish first in the final ahead of teammate Julia Murray. [6] With the victory she completed the seasonal sweep of the two biggest ski cross events in the world.

On February 21, 2014, Serwa won silver in women's ski cross during her second Olympics, finishing behind gold medalist and Canadian teammate Marielle Thompson.

Serwa suffered a training accident in December 2016 and considered retirement from ski cross, but ultimately returned to the sport following knee surgery. She subsequently earned a place on Canada's ski cross team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. [7] Serwa went on to win the gold medal in women's ski cross, with her teammate Brittany Phelan winning the silver medal. [8]

On July 4, 2019, Serwa announced her retirement from competitive ski cross, after ten years on the national team. [9]

Personal life

Serwa's grandfather, Clifford Jack Serwa, was a co-founder of the Big White Ski Resort, and later a longtime member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia representing Okanagan. Serwa married Stan Rey, a retired competitive ski cross athlete, in 2019. She began studying kinesiology at the University of British Columbia at Okanagan. [10]

World Cup results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS). [11]

Season standings

 Season  Age OverallSki crossCross Alps Tour
2009 19123
2010 20114
2011 2173
2012 22299
2013 23194
2014 247317
2015 25did not compete
2016 26318
2017 271342417
2018 282776
2019 29328

Race Podiums

SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
2008–09 5 January 2009 Flag of Austria.svg St. Johann in Tirol/Oberndorf, Austria Ski Cross 3rd
20 March 2009 Flag of France.svg La Plagne, FranceSki Cross2nd
2009–10 13 January 2010 Flag of France.svg Alpe d'Huez, France Ski Cross 1st
24 January 2010 Flag of the United States.svg Lake Placid, USASki Cross1st
12 March 2010  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Grindelwald, SwitzerlandSki Cross1st
2010–11 18 December 2010 Flag of Italy.svg Innichen, ItalySki Cross2nd
12 January 2011 Flag of France.svg Alpe d'Huez, FranceSki Cross1st
16 January 2011 Flag of France.svg Les Contamines, FranceSki Cross2nd
13 March 2011 Flag of Sweden.svg Branas, SwedenSki Cross2nd
19 March 2011 Flag of Norway.svg Myrkdalen-Voss, NorwaySki Cross2nd
2011–12 17 December 2011 Flag of Italy.svg Innichen, ItalySki Cross1st
18 December 2011 Flag of Italy.svg Innichen, ItalySki Cross1st
2012–13 23 December 2012 Flag of Italy.svg Innichen, ItalySki Cross1st
15 January 2013 Flag of France.svg Megève, FranceSki Cross2nd
19 February 2013 Flag of Russia.svg Sochi, RussiaSki Cross1st
2013–14 21 December 2013 Flag of Italy.svg Innichen, ItalySki Cross2nd
2015–16 20 December 2015 Flag of Italy.svg Innichen, ItalySki Cross2nd
28 February 2016 Flag of South Korea.svg Bogwang, South KoreaSki Cross2nd
2017–18 7 December 2017 Flag of France.svg Val Thorens, FranceSki Cross3rd
2018–19 20 January 2019 Flag of Sweden.svg Idre, SwedenSki Cross3rd

Olympic results

 Year  Age Ski Cross
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 2010 Vancouver 20 5
Flag of Russia.svg 2014 Sochi 24 2
Flag of South Korea.svg 2018 Pyeongchang 28 1

World Championships results

 Year  Age Ski Cross
Flag of Japan.svg 2009 Inawashiro 195
Flag of the United States.svg 2011 Deer Valley 21 1
Flag of Norway.svg 2013 Voss 23   DNS [a]
Flag of Austria.svg 2015 Kreischberg 25did not
compete
Flag of Spain.svg 2017 Sierra Nevada 27
Flag of the United States.svg 2019 Solitude Mountain 295

a. 1 Kelsey Serwa suffered a knee injury in the training and was unable to compete in the race. [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">Dominique Maltais</span> Canadian snowboarder

Dominique Maltais is a Canadian snowboarder, specialising in snowboard cross. She is a two-time Olympic medallist, winning a bronze medal at the 2006 Torino Games and a silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Games. She also competed at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, where she failed to reach the final. At the FIS Snowboarding World Championships, she won a bronze medal in 2011 and a silver medal in 2013. She is the 2012 Winter X Games champion, and has won the Crystal Globe as the overall FIS World Cup champion in snowboard cross five times, in 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

<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">Hedda Berntsen</span> Norwegian sportsperson

Hedda Berntsen is a Norwegian sportsperson who has competed internationally in telemark skiing, alpine skiing, freestyle skiing and skicross. She is world champion in Telemark classic from 1997. She later concentrated on the alpine slalom, her career peaking in the 2000–01 season with consistent performances in the World Cup as well as a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships. She later switched to skicross, receiving a silver medal at the 2008 Winter X Games. In the Vancouver Winter Olympics on 23 February 2010 she won the silver medal in the women's skicross competition.

<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.

<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">Christopher Del Bosco</span> American-born, Canadian freestyle skier

Christopher Del Bosco, 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.

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">Rosalind Groenewoud</span> Canadian freestyle skier

Rosalind Groenewoud is a Canadian freeskier. She is the 2011 FIS World Champion in halfpipe, Groenewoud is also a 2012 Winter X Games champion x 2 and has 3 silver and two bronze medals from X Games competitions in halfpipe. She won the AFP Overall Championship in 2009 & 2010 and AFP Halfpipe Overall Ranking in 2012. She is the first woman to design her own pro-model freestyle ski with the female owned ski company Coalition Snow.

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">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.

Brittany Phelan is a Canadian freestyle skier who competes in ski cross. She was formerly an alpine skier, specializing in slalom skiing. She won the silver medal in women's ski cross at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

<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.

Aleisha Cline is a Canadian cross skier. The website of the International Olympic Committee describes her as a "living legend".

The women's snowboard cross competition in snowboarding at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 9 February, at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou. Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States became the Olympic champion. Jacobellis dominated the snowboard cross for almost two decades, winning the X Games ten times and the world championships six times, but her only Olympic medal so far was the silver in 2006, when she started celebrating her win too early and was overtaken at the finish line. Chloé Trespeuch of France, the 2014 bronze medalist, won the silver medal, and Meryeta O'Dine of Canada the bronze, her first Olympic medal.

The women's ski cross competition in freestyle skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 17 February, at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou. Sandra Näslund of Sweden won the event, which was her first Olympic medal. Marielle Thompson of Canada, the 2014 champion, won the silver medal. The bronze medal was split between Fanny Smith of Switzerland and Daniela Maier of Germany following a Court of Arbitration of Sport decision on 13 December 2022 in regards to an interference call in the final.

References

  1. "Kelsey Serwa & Dave Duncan Crowned this years Canadian Champions at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary". Pacific Sport. January 13, 2010. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  2. "Canadians Savour Long Awaited Wins". Toronto Star. January 13, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  3. "Double gold for Canada in skicross". CBC News. January 24, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  4. "Canadian ski cross team takes 5 of 6 podium spots". Vancouver Sun. January 31, 2010. Retrieved February 1, 2010.[ dead link ]
  5. Gary Kingston (February 2, 2011). "Serwa hurtin' but good as gold". Vancouver Sun . Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  6. "Del Bosco, Serwa win ski cross worlds". CBC Sports. February 4, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  7. "Canada's Marielle Thompson looks to cap improbable comeback in women's ski cross". CBC Sports. February 21, 2018. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  8. "Canada's Kelsey Serwa wins gold, Brittany Phelan grabs silver in women's skicross at Winter Olympics". The Globe and Mail . February 22, 2018.
  9. Spencer, Donna (July 4, 2019). "Canada's Kelsey Serwa retires from ski cross as reigning Olympic champion". CBC Sports .
  10. MacNaull, Steve (November 28, 2020). "Catching up with the Okanagan's favourite Olympic gold medalist". Kelowna Now.
  11. "Kelsey Serwa". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  12. Marois, Michel (March 11, 2013). "Ski acrobatique: le Canada survole les Mondiaux". La Presse (in French). Retrieved February 23, 2018.