The torch is nearing Pyeongchang, about to light a fire in sports fans around the world who can’t get enough of the Olympic Games.
If you’re anything like me you’ll spend the next 17 days parked in front of the TV watching Canadians go for gold against the best athletes in the world. The North Shore, with our incredible ocean-and-mountains location and impressive sports systems, has long punched way above its weight class in providing Olympic athletes to Team Canada, and this year is no different. Four of the 225 Canadian athletes headed to South Korea have strong ties to the North Shore, having spent many of their formative years here, while another 10 athletes list North Vancouver as either their place of birth or current residence.
As you’re flipping through the various Olympic feeds or jumping online to catch the stream, keep an eye out for these North Shore athletes hitting the snow and ice of South Korea while sporting the Maple Leaf. All times listed are local Vancouver times.
Jane Channell
Sport: skeleton
Schedule: Friday, Feb. 16, 3:20 a.m. (PST), heat one and two. Saturday, Feb. 17, 3:20 a.m., heat three and four.
Born and raised in North Vancouver, Jane Channell is a true North Shore girl who starred in several sports at Handsworth Secondary before moving on to Simon Fraser University where she ran track and played on the softball team. After graduating from SFU she dedicated herself to skeleton, making the most of the new track in Whistler that was installed for the 2010 Olympics.
You’ll have to get up early (or stay up late) to catch her races, but it will be worth the sleep deprivation as Channell will be in the hunt for medals in South Korea. Headed to her first Olympic Games, she’s currently ranked fifth overall in the World Cup skeleton standings and won silver at a World Cup race in Whistler in November. Channell, known as the “Legacy Baby” for her connection to the Vancouver Games, paid tribute to the 2010 Olympics with the design of her new racing helmet.
“Their slogan was ‘With Glowing Hearts,’ and so when you look at my helmet you’ll see the breastplate and the ribcage, and where the heart should be is a glowing Maple Leaf,” she recently told the North Shore News. “I’ve got Canada running through my veins.”
Fun fact: Channell always puts her left sock, shoe and glove on first, then the right. If she forgets, she starts over.
Manuel Osborne-Paradis
Sport: Alpine skiing
Schedule: Saturday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m. (PST), downhill. Wednesday, Feb. 14, 6 p.m., Super G.
The man known as Manny is racing into his fourth Olympic Games as one of the leaders of the Canadian alpine team. He has 11 career World Cup medals and won bronze in Super G at last year’s world championships. His best ever finish at an Olympic Games came in 2006 when he placed 10th in downhill.
The Olympic course at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre sets up well for him, Manny told the North Shore News during a recent conference call.
“It doesn’t have a gliding section but it’s not very steep so I think it suits me better than guys who are really good at charging down steep hills,” he said. “There is nothing too worrisome about the race course. It is a very intermediate course where we still have to race against the best guys in the world.”
Fun fact: Manny has collected more than 50 helmets from his fellow skiers, but he only collects from racers who have been on the World Cup podium.
Stefan Elliott
Sport: hockey
Schedule (opening round): Thursday, Feb. 15, 4:10 a.m. (PST) vs. Switzerland. Friday, Feb. 16, 7:10 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, 4:10 a.m.
This NHL decided not to release its players for the 2018 Olympics, opening the door for a couple of North Shore players to live their Olympic dreams. Elliott was born in North Vancouver and played his minor hockey with the North Shore Winter Club. The 27-year-old defenceman starred with the North Van/Burnaby-based Northwest Giants of the BC Major Midget League before moving to Saskatoon for a stellar WHL career with the Blades.
He was drafted in the second round by the Colorado Avalanche in 2009 and scored 24 points in 84 career NHL games with the Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators. He is currently playing for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League, but as one of the top Canadian players not currently in the NHL, he’ll get to go for gold this year in South Korea.
Fun fact: Elliott made his NHL debut on Hockey Night in Canada, scoring the game-winning goal in a 5-2 win for Colorado over the Edmonton Oilers.
Gilbert Brule
Sport: hockey
Schedule: see above for Stefan Elliott.
Brule was born in Edmonton but moved to North Van as a child and played minor hockey at the North Shore Winter Club. The 31-year-old forward was dominant in junior in his time with the Vancouver Giants, winning WHL rookie of the year honours and being named WHL playoff MVP after leading the Giants to the Memorial Cup in 2006. He appeared in 299 regular season NHL games from 2005 to 2014, notching 43 goals and 52 assists while playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers and Phoenix Coyotes. He currently plays for Beijing-based Kunlun Red Star in the KHL.
Fun fact: Brule gave a ride to Bono, the U2 frontman, who was hitchhiking on a West Vancouver road after getting caught in a rain storm while out for a walk in June of 2011.
That’s the North Shore four. Below are the other athletes who list North Vancouver as either their place of birth or current residence:
Mercedes Nicoll
Sport: snowboard halfpipe
Schedule: Sunday, Feb. 11, 8:30 p.m., qualification. Monday, Feb. 12, 5 p.m., finals.
Nicoll was born in North Vancouver, moved to Toronto when she was a toddler and now calls Whistler home. She’ll be competing in her fourth Olympic Games, her best finish coming in 2010 when she made the halfpipe final and finished sixth. She has eight career World Cup podiums and has won five national championships.
Fun fact: Nicoll broke a family Olympic curse when she debuted at the Games in 2006. Her father was supposed to represent Great Britain in skiing but broke his leg before he could go, and her grandfather was supposed to go to the Games in bobsleigh but opted to go on his honeymoon instead.
Spencer O’Brien
Sport: snowboard slopestyle, big air
Schedule: Saturday, Feb. 10, 8:30 p.m., slopestyle qualification. Sunday, Feb. 11, 5 p.m., Slopestyle final. Sunday, Feb. 18, 4:30 p.m., big air qualification. Thursday, Feb. 22, 4:30 p.m., big air final.
Spencer O’Brien grew up in Courtenay, B.C., but moved to North Vancouver in 2009 to keep her close to both Whistler and the airport. This will be her second Olympic Games following a 12th-place showing in slopestyle in 2014. One of the world’s best, O’Brien has claimed gold in slopestyle both at the world championships and the X Games.
Fun fact: Worked on her dad’s fishing boat to save money so she could move to Whistler by herself at age 17.
Broderick Thompson
Sport: alpine skiing
Schedule: See Manny’s schedule above.
Broderick Thompson was born in North Vancouver but calls Whistler home. The 23-year-old will make his Olympic debut in South Korea. The young racer broke out in 2014, finishing first in the Nor-Am Cup Super G standings and making his World Cup debut that same year.
Fun fact: The part-time wood carver and ukulele player works at his parents’ bed and breakfast in the offseason.
Marielle Thomspon
Sport: ski cross
Schedule: Thursday, Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m. seeding, 9:30 p.m. finals.
Marielle Thompson is the defending Olympic champion in ski cross and she’ll be competing in her second Olympics in South Korea following her golden showing in Sochi. She’s also Broderick Thompson’s older sister and was also born in North Van and raised in Whistler. She’ll be one of the ski cross racers carrying the spirit of West Vancouver’s Georgia Simmerling who was supposed to be one of the medal favourites coming into the 2018 Games but broke both her legs in a scary crash last month.
Fun fact: Marielle was just 19 years old when she won her first World Cup gold medal and won the overall World Cup title that same season, becoming the first Canadian ski cross racer to win a Crystal Globe.
Emma Lunder
Sport: biathlon
Schedule: multiple races
Lunder was born in North Vancouver but lists Vernon as her hometown and Canmore as her place of residence. She scored her career-best World Cup finish in December when she finished 18th in the 10-kilometre pursuit in Annecy, France. These will be her first Olympic Games.
Fun fact: Each season she designates one pair of earrings as that year’s “race earrings.”
Simon D’Artois
Sport: Freestyle skiing, halfpipe
Schedule: Monday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m. qualification. Wednesday, Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m. finals
D’Artois was born in North Vancouver but calls Whistler home. He made history at the 2015 Winter X Games in Aspen where he became the first Canadian man to win the ski halfpipe event. These will be his first Olympic Games.
Fun fact: His grandparents were spies for the allies in the Second World War.
Cassie Sharpe
Sport: Freestyle skiing, halfpipe
Schedule: Sunday, Feb. 18, 5 p.m. qualification. Monday, Feb. 19, 5:30 p.m. finals.
Sharpe was born in Calgary and lists Comox as her hometown but resides in North Vancouver. She landed her first big result at the 2015 FIS World Championships where she won silver, and has since reached the top of the podium on the World Cup tour and at the 2016 X Games in Oslo, Norway. These will be her first Olympic Games.
Fun fact: Her brother Darcy also won a silver medal at the 2015 World Championships, finishing second in the big air event.
Tess Critchlow
Sport: snowboard cross
Schedule: Thursday, Feb. 15, 5 p.m. qualification, 7:56 p.m. finals.
North Vancouver resident Tess Critchlow was born in Prince George and lists Kelowna as her hometown. The 22-year-old scored four top-10 finishes on the World Cup in the 2016-17 season and won the national title in 2016. These are her first Olympic Games.
Fun fact: Her father surprised her with snowboard cross tickets for Vancouver 2010 where she saw one of her idols, West Vancouver’s Maëlle Ricker, win gold, sparking her own Olympic dream.
Carle Brenneman
Sport: snowboard cross
Schedule: see Tess Critchlow above.
Brenneman was born in Richmond and lists Comox as her hometown and North Vancouver as her current residence. She was an alternate on the Olympic team in 2014, and was the top Canadian finisher at the 2017 World Championships where she placed eighth.
Fun fact: Her favourite Olympic moment is – yup, you guessed it – Maëlle Ricker winning snowboard cross gold on Cypress Mountain in 2010.
Zoe Bergermann
Sport: snowboard cross
Schedule: see Tess Critchlow above.
North Vancouver resident Zoe Bergermann was born in Georgetown, Ont. and lists Erin, Ont. as her hometown. The 23-year-old has eight career top-10 World Cup finishes despite missing competition time battling a rare form of arthritis called Still’s disease. These will be her first Olympic Games.
Fun fact: Bergermann wears the same long johns every race day, a pair that she’s owned since her days on the provincial team. Also she was inspired to go after her own Olympic dream after watching a certain local snowboard cross racer win a medal on a certain local course during a large competition in 2010. Call it the Maëlle effect!
Bonus athlete
Genny Knowles
Sport: hockey
Surprise: She’s competing for Korea!
West Vancouver’s Genny Knowles is living the Olympic dream as a goaltender with the Korean national team. Just 17 years of age, Knowles took an interesting route to the Games that started with the hockey program at the North Shore Winter Club. From there she moved to Lawrenceville School in New Jersey to play in their famous high school hockey program, and while attending a prospects camp for Yale University caught the attention of the Korean national team. After an anxiety-filled tryout camp, Knowles got an exhilarating phone call: she was on the team, and going to the Olympics.
Fun fact: The call from the Korean team came on April 25 of last year, Genny’s 17th birthday!
That brings the North Shore total up to 15. Pretty darn impressive, if you ask me. Let the Games begin!!
