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| National team | Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 22, 2000 Lancashire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | melpemble | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Disability class | C3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| World finals |
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Medal record
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Melissa "Mel" Pemble is a Canadian para alpine skier and para cyclist. She won back-to-back gold medals in omnium C3 at the 2022 and 2023 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. She won two medals in para-cycling at the 2023 Parapan American Games.
Pemble was born in Lancashire, England with cerebral palsy affecting her right side. [1] Her parents thought it would be good for her to take up a sport to help with her balance and coordination. [2] She moved to Victoria, British Columbia at age 9 with her parents. [3] She twisted her knee after an early skiing lesson in France, but took up para-skiing again after moving to Canada. [1]
Pemble graduated from the Canadian Sports School-Victoria. [4]
At the 2015 Canada Winter Games, Pemble won the women’s Giant Slalom Para female race. [5] She also won a silver medal in slalom para alpine skiing at the Games. [6]
Pemble competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics as the youngest Canadian skier at the games. [7] She finished eleventh in women's giant slalom, [8] and women's super-G, [9] and ninth in women's downhill [10] and women's super combined. [11] She did not finish in women's slalom. [12]
She competed at the 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships. Pemble made the decision to end her para-skiing career in 2020. [1]
When she was 14, the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific's Podium Search program identified Pemble for para-cycling. She competed at the provincial level and used the sport as cross-training for skiing. She was coached by Kurt Innes, who later coached her upon her return to the sport in 2020 after a five-year break from the sport. [1]
She made her world debut in para-cycling competing at the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, at which she won a gold medal in omnium [13] and scratch race. [14] [15] She set a para-cycling world record in the non-medaled 200-metre sprint in 2022. [16] [17] She also placed third in the 500m time trial and fourth in the four-kilometre individual pursuit. [1]
At the 2023 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, Pemble won gold in omnium, a bronze medal in the time trial event, and a silver in the women’s C3 scratch race. [18]
Pemble competed at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile. She won the gold medal in the women's 3,000-metre C1-3 individual pursuit. [19] She finished fourth in the women's individual road race C1–3 [20] and seventh in the women's individual road time trial C1–5. [21]
She won a silver medal in the women’s C3 500m time trial and a bronze medal in the women's C3 omnium at the 2024 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships. [22] Also at the 2024 UCI Para Cycling Championships, Pemble placed 5th in the Individual Pursuit and 6th in the Scratch Race. [23]
Pemble is set to compete in para-cycling at the 2024 Summer Paralympics. [24]
Stephanie Dixon, is a Canadian swimmer. She is a three-time Paralympian and competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Paralympic Games prior to retiring from competitive swimming in 2010. During her career, Dixon won nineteen Paralympic medals and seven Parapan American Games medals, and was a 10-time world champion. She is one of Canada's most successful Paralympians.
Jessica Gallagher is an Australian Paralympic alpine skier, track and field athlete, tandem cyclist and rower. She was Australia's second female Winter Paralympian, and the first Australian woman to win a medal at the Winter Paralympics at the 2010 Vancouver Games. She competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, where she won a bronze medal in the women's giant slalom visually impaired.
David Nicholas, is an Australian cyclist. He won silver and gold medals at the 2012 London Paralympics and a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Simone Kennedy is an Australian cyclist. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and won a silver medal in the individual pursuit C1-3. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Amanda Reid is an Australian Paralympic swimmer, cyclist and snowboarder. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in swimming. At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, she won a silver medal in the Women's 500 m Time Trial C1–3 and at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics a gold medal in the 500 m Time Trial C1–3. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she won a gold medal in the 500 m Time Trial C1–3.
Melissa Perrine is a B2 classified visually impaired para-alpine skier from Australia. She has competed at the four Winter Paralympics from 2010 to 2022. At the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, she won three gold, one silver and one bronze medals. At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, she won two bronze medals.
Karolina Wisniewska is a para-alpine standing skier. Born in Warsaw, she moved to Canada when she was 5 years old where she then took up skiing as a form of physical therapy for her cerebral palsy. Over the course of her skiing career, she won eight total Paralympic medals for skiing, and 18 medals at International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Cups. At the 2002 Winter Paralympics, she earned four medals, the most ever earned by a Canadian para-alpine skier at a single Games. Wisniewska retired from the sport for a second time in May 2012 following an injury in 2011 that resulted in her missing most of the 2011/2012 skiing season.
Victoria "Tori" Pendergast is an Australian F58 athletics shot put competitor and LW12.1 classified Para-alpine skier. When she competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, she became Australia's first female sit skier at the Winter Paralympics. She competed in two events, finishing seventh in women's slalom sit-ski and tenth in the women's giant slalom sit-ski. She also won a silver and a bronze medal in the slalom and super-G at the 2013 North America Cup, and a bronze medal in the giant slalom at the 2013 IPC World Cup in Thredbo.
Laurie Stephens is an alpine monoskier who has spina bifida. She has won multiple medals for the United States at the Paralympics. She has also had success at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup.
Christian Geiger is an Australian Alpine skier, Paralympic alpine ski coach and sighted guide for visually impaired skiers. He was Jessica Gallagher's guide skier at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, winning a bronze medal. He represented Australia at the 2008 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships and the 2009 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, but his career was cut short when he was severely injured in a traffic collision in 2009. He became Jessica Gallagher's sighted guide in 2013, and guided her to silver medals in women's slalom and giant slalom at the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Thredbo. Geiger was Melissa Perrine's guide and coach at the 2018 Winter Paralympics where she won two bronze medals.
Shelley Gautier is a Canadian multi-medalist in para-cycling. At the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships from 2010 to 2022, Gautier has won 16 golds as part of her 19 medals. At the Parapan American Games, Gautier won a silver at the mixed road time trial event held at the 2011 Parapan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games. As a Paralympic competitor, Gautier won a bronze at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the women's time trial event. Apart from para-cycling, Gautier competed in disabled sailing. Gautier was inducted into the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame in 2003 and nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability in 2015.
The Netherlands sent competitors to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Four people competed in para-snowboarding. Five people competed in para-alpine skiing. Anna Jochemsen and Jeffrey Stuut are standing skiers. Linda van Impelen, Jeroen Kampschreur and Niels de Langen have all competed in all 5 para-alpine sit-ski events. Lisa Bunschoten, Bibian Mentel and Chris Vos all competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi. Renske van Beek was the only snowboarder on Team Netherlands who did not go to Sochi.
Paige Greco is an Australian Paralympic cyclist who won gold medals at the 2019 World Track Championships in C1-3 women's pursuit 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. She broke the World Record setting a new one of 3:52.283 in the 3000m individual pursuit at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Emily Petricola is an Australian Paralympic cyclist. She is a world record holder, gold medallist at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics She is a multiple gold medallist at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships..
Finlay "Fin" Graham is a British racing cyclist from Scotland who competes in para-cycling road and track events. He is classified as a C3 cyclist. He has represented Great Britain at two Paralympic Games: in Tokyo, he won silver medals in the track individual pursuit and in the road race. In Paris, he again took a silver medal in the individual pursuit, but took his first Paralympic gold in the road race. Graham is a multiple-time British and World Champion across road and track disciplines.
Jaco-Albert van Gass is a South African-born British racing cyclist who competes in para-cycling track events. He won two gold medals and one bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He is a three times world record holder in Track cycling.
Aniek van den Aarssen is a Dutch para-cyclist who competes in road and track events.
Paula Daniela Caballeros Pérez is a Colombian para-cyclist who competes in road and track events.
Devon Briggs is a New Zealand para-cyclist who competes in road and track events. He represented New Zealand at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
