Linda Florkevich

Last updated
Linda Florkevich
Personal information
Full nameLinda Florkevich
Alternative namesLinda Gilmour
Country representedFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Born (1970-02-03) February 3, 1970 (age 49)
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Home town Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Skating clubNorth Shore WC

Linda Florkevich (married name: Gilmour) (born February 3, 1970 in Kelowna, British Columbia) is a Canadian figure skater who competed in ladies singles.

Kelowna City in British Columbia, Canada

Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of the Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from an Okanagan language term for "grizzly bear".

British Columbia Province of Canada

British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. With an estimated population of 5.071 million as of 2019, it is Canada's third-most populous province.

Canadians citizens of Canada

Canadians are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Canadian.

Contents

Biography

Linda Florkevich was born in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada in 1970. Her figure skating started when she was 4 years old.

Linda's first success was gold at the Canada Winter Games (Saguenay/Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec) as a Novice in 1983. [1] Then she moved on to win a Junior National bronze medal (1985) [2] and finally she captured the bronze medal at the Senior National level in 1987. [3]

Saguenay River river in Quebec, Canada

The Saguenay River is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. Tadoussac, founded as a French colonial trading post in 1600, is located on the northeast bank at this site.

Lac Saint-Jean lake in Quebec, Canada

Lac Saint-Jean is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated 206 kilometres north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area of 1,053 km2 (407 sq mi), and is 63.1 m (207 ft) at its deepest point. Its name in the Innu language is Piekuakami.

Quebec Province of Canada

Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario and the bodies of water James Bay and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the US states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada.

Her biggest international success is the bronze medal at the 1986 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. [4]

The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters within a designated age range compete for the title of World Junior champion. The ISU guidelines for junior eligibility have varied throughout the years – currently, skaters must be at least 13 years old but not yet 19 before the previous 1 July, except for men competing in pair skating and ice dancing where the age maximum is 21.

As a professional skater, she has skated with Canada Ice Dance Theatre. [5]

After her competitive days were completed she turned to coaching young talents to reach their goals. Linda is a NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) level 3 certified coach. She is developing talents from the learn-to-skate programs of CanSkate to National level competitors and work together with individual skaters to choreograph creative skills, interpretive and singles programs.

Competitive highlights

Event [3] 1984-851985-861986-87
World Junior Championships 3rd
Canadian Championships 3rd J.3rd
Nebelhorn Trophy 6th
Merano Spring Trophy2nd

Personal life

She is married to Dean Gilmour and they have two sons, Nathan and Braiden. Braiden, the younger son, was born in 1998 with cerebral palsy. The first diagnosis was that he would not walk or see. Later he was diagnosed with autism as well. After years of hard work, passion and commitment he can read, walk and complete races. [6]

Cerebral palsy A group of disorders affecting the development of movement and posture, often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, and behavior. It results from damage to the fetal or infant brain.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time. Often, symptoms include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, swallowing, and speaking. Often, babies with cerebral palsy do not roll over, sit, crawl or walk as early as other children of their age. Other symptoms include seizures and problems with thinking or reasoning, which each occur in about one third of people with CP. While symptoms may get more noticeable over the first few years of life, underlying problems do not worsen over time.

Autism Neurodevelopmental disorder involving problems with social interaction and communication, and the presence of repetitive behaviors

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. Parents usually notice signs during the first three years of their child's life. These signs often develop gradually, though some children with autism reach their developmental milestones at a normal pace before worsening.

Florkevich and her family support Braiden as he participates in running races and donates his pledges for support to local charities that support kids with physical disabilities and autism. They have hosted charity hockey challenges, social evenings and a very special New Year's Day Charity Ice Show. [7] His mother hopes that Braiden's story will be an inspiration to all people with disabilities to create their own miracles and realize there are no limits to what can be achieved. Braiden’s ‘INSPIRING POSSIBILITIES’ mission supports Variety, the Children's Charity along with Victoria Riding for the Disabled Association. [8]

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References

  1. Canada Games Results
  2. "Canadian Championships: Ladies Junior" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-20.
  3. 1 2 "Skate Canada Official results book" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-08.
  4. "ISU Results: World Junior Figure Skating Championships: Ladies" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-13. (8.88 KB)
  5. "CIDT Newsletter" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-19.
  6. Braiden’s Story
  7. "The Voice of Variety" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-12.
  8. Braiden Inspiration