Kelly VanderBeek
 | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Canada
| ||
| Women's Alpine Skiing | ||
| FIS World Cup | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} |  2008 Sestriere | Downhill |
| |  2007 St.Anton/Arlberg | Downhill |
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2006 Lake Louise | Super-G |
| FIS Jr. World Ski Championships | ||
| |  2003 Puy St.Vincent | Super-G |
| | 2002 Tarvisio | Super-G |
Kelly VanderBeek (born January 21, 1983 in Kapuskasing, Ontario) is a retired Canadian alpine skier originally from Kitchener, Ontario. She currently resides in Canmore, Alberta with husband (five-time Olympic kayaker) David Ford. Although she has trained at countless ski clubs over the years, she lists Chicopee Ski Club, Kitchener, Ontario as her home club.
Ski Racing career
Kelly qualified for the Canadian National Ski team in 2000 and stayed with them for 13years. Coming from Kapuskasing, Ontario where she learned to ski on a rope tow at the Rémi Ski Hill (34m), meant that when she started racing at Chicopee Ski Club (Kitchener, Ontario), it seem like a mountain (even through its vertical was only 61m).
In 2002, VanderBeek won both the Super-G and downhill events on the Nor-Am Cup held in Aspen, Colorado. In 2004, she continued to make her mark on the Nor-Am Cup by winning two Super-G races at Big Mountain, Montana. She placed a remarkable 3rd in the Super-G at both the 2002 and 2003 FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Tarvisio, Italy and Puy St.Vincent, France, respectively. Kelly competed in numerous Europa Cup events as well.
On December 3, 2002, VanderBeek made her FIS World Cup debut at Lake Louise, Alberta. VanderBeek then won the Canadian Junior Athlete of the Year that same year. On December 3, 2006, VanderBeek became the first Canadian woman to reach the podium on home soil, posting a 3rd place finish at the World Cup downhill in Lake Louise.[1]
Later, she posted two 2nd place finishes at World Cup events in 2007 and 2008 in Sestriere, Italy and St. Anton, Austria.
On January 12, 2013, VanderBeek announced her retirement from competitive sport during a press conference held at her home club of Chicopee Ski Club. The announcement followed by an interview with Scott Russell was aired on CBC.
Television Host/Broadcaster
Kelly worked as an Analyst/Host during the Vancouver Olympics and London Olympics for CTV then moving onto the Sochi Olympics with CBC. Kelly hosted the Raising an Olympian features and was a part of the PrimeTime Panel discussing hot topics from the day in sport. She has also worked as a guest host for Sportsnet, CBC, and Sportscene.
Commercials featuring Kelly include: Aveeno (two commercials that aired in 2014) & Voltaren (one commercial that aired in 2013).
2015 Kelly worked the Calgary Stampede (rodeo & chuckwagons), Rogers Cup (tennis), guest hosted at The Shopping Channel, and covered alpine in Vail and Lake Louise.
Olympics
At the 2006 Winter Olympics she picked up a 4th place finish in the Super-G event, missing the podium by only 0.03 of a second. Kelly also won the final DH training run in Torino, causing the world to take notice of this young Canadian.
On December 17, 2009, Kelly VanderBeek saw her season end along with her 2010 Winter Olympic dream when she suffered from a torn ACL, posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee after a crash on the second downhill training run at a World Cup in Val d'Isère, France. That same week at Val d'Isère also ended up being a season ending stop for two other Canadian Olympic hopefuls, Larisa Yurkiw and Jean-Philippe Roy.
Although VanderBeek did not compete on home soil, she was given the opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame as the torch passed through New Westminster, British Columbia.[2] Along with other current and former members of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, VanderBeek also appeared on live television as an alpine skiing analyst for broadcaster, CTV.
Kelly VanderBeek Racing Club
In 2009, VanderBeek created the Kelly VanderBeek Racing Club (KVR) in an effort to support young racers in Southwestern Ontario. The club provides young athletes with high performance training and is based out of her home club, Chicopee Ski Club.
KVR Kids Fit is also running in the Kitchener Waterloo region providing kids with ways to keep fit while making it fun and informative.
World Cup results
| Season | Top 10s |
|---|---|
| 2008/2009 | 7 |
| 2007/2008 | 5 |
| 2006/2007 | 7 |
| 2005/2006 | 2 |
| 2004/2005 | 1 |
Equipment and Sponsorship
Skis: Volkl
Bindings: Marker
Boots: Dalbello
Poles: Swix
Helmet & Goggles: POC
Sponsor: Teck
Other Sponsors & Suppliers: Comcor Environmental
References
- ↑ http://www.pacificsport.com/content/main/psbc/team/athletebios.asp?athlete=1129 Pacific Sport Bio. Retrieved, January 19, 2010
- ↑ "Kelly VanderBeek at least gets to carry Olympic torch". Montreal Gazette. January 7, 2010. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2010.