COC
Don't be fooled by their sweet smiles, Canada. Meet some of Alberta's fiercest Olympic athletes headed to Sochi this year.
Of the 221 members to comprise Team Canada for the 2014 Olympic Games, a whopping 25 per cent hail from Alberta - not surprising considering the province's Olympic legacy (Calgary hosted the Games in 1988) and athlete access to world-class training facilities for skiing, snowboarding, luge, bobsled, ski jumping, cross-country skiing and more.
The rest of Canada and the world better be prepared for what Alberta's about to bring to the international sports stage. Our athletes are some of the cutest in the country, but guaranteed to be some strongest competitors at the Games.
Alberta Olympians To Watch
Anastasia Bucsis(01 of19)
Sport: Speed SkatingBorn: 04/30/1989Age: 24Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaAnastasia placed 34th during the 2014 Vancouver Winter Olympics, but we have a feeling she's going to light the track on fire this year.
Dusty Korek(02 of19)
Sport: Ski JumpingBorn: 04/19/1995Age: 18Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaDusty is one of the youngest members representing Team Canada this year. He got his first taste of Olympic competition at the 2012 Youth Olympic Winter Games where he finished 8th in the individual event and took home bronze in the mixed team event with Taylor Henrich and Nathaniel Mah.
Jamie Gregg(03 of19)
Sport: SpeedskatingBorn: 03/18/1985Age: 28Hometown: Edmonton, AlbertaJamie comes from a speedskating family. Since the retirement of his idol (and brother-in-law) Jeremy Wotherspoon, Jamie has become Canada’s top-ranked man in the 500m, cracking the top-five in the 2012-13 World Cup standings for the distance.
Jessica Gregg(04 of19)
Sport: SpeedskatingBorn: 03/16/1988Age: 25Hometown: Edmonton, AlbertaGregg made her Olympic debut at Vancouver 2010 and was part of the silver medal-winning 3000m relay squad. She almost captured a place on the podium by herself when she finished fourth in the 500m. She added a sixth place finish in the 1000m.
Kaetlyn Osmond(05 of19)
Sport: Figure SkatingBorn: 12/05/1995Age: 18Hometown: Sherwood Park, AlbertaKaetlyn broke onto the scene two years ago, when as an almost complete unknown she won gold at her first senior ISU Grand Prix event, Skate Canada International, in October 2012. She was Canada’s lone entry at the 2013 World Championships and placed fourth in the short program and ended up eighth overall,
Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes(06 of19)
Sport: Ski JumpingBorn: 07/13/1991Age: 22Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaBoyd-Clowes made history in February 2013 when he became the first Canadian ski jumper to ever fly beyond the 200m mark. He made his Olympic debut in 2010, but failed move out of qualifying rounds. However, he's been moving his way up in the world rankings since, and should be a fierce competitor this year.
Alex Gough(07 of19)
Sport: LugeBorn: 05/12/1987Age: 26Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaIn February 2011, Alex became the first Canadian luger to ever win gold in a World Cup race, ending a 105-race winning streak in women’s World Cup competition by Germany, a string of success that had lasted more than 13 years. She went on to win Canada’s first-ever world championship women’s luge medal when she captured bronze in 2011. Her performance has been remarkably consistent since.
Mike Riddle(08 of19)
Sport: Freestyle SkiingBorn: 06/17/1986Age: 27Hometown: Sherwood Park, AlbertaMike Riddle will be amongst the top contenders for the first-ever Olympic gold medal in the event at Sochi 2014. He won silver in his first-ever World Cup event in January 2006. He had one of his best overall seasons in 2012-13, earning the Crystal Globe as the overall World Cup champion for ski halfpipe.
Nathan Smith(09 of19)
Sport: BiathlonBorn: 12/25/1985Age: 28Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaSmith has competed at each of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 World Championships. In 2013 he helped the Canadian men to a best-ever eighth place finish in the 4 x 7.5km relay at the world championships.
Neville Wright(10 of19)
Sport: BobsledBorn: 12/21/1980Age: 33Hometown: Edmonton, AlbertaNeville first tried his hand at bobsleigh in the summer of 2009 and less than a year later was a member of the four-man sled at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. He started off in track and field, but made an easy transition to bobsled and has been competing around the world since.
Taylor Henrich(11 of19)
Sport: Ski JumpingBorn: 11/01/1995Age: 18Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaTaylor Henrich made history as the first woman to take part in ski jumping at an Olympic level. When she was just 16 she wore bib #1 during the first round of competition at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games where she finished fifth.
Tristan Walker(12 of19)
Sport: LugeBorn: 05/16/1991Age: 22Hometown: Cochrane, AlbertaTristan was one of the youngest Team Canada members when he and teammate Justin Snith shot down the track at the Vancouver 2010 Games. Some of his career highlights include: 2013 World Silver Medallist (team relay)… 2012 World Bronze Medalllist (team relay)… 4th at 2013 World Championships (doubles)… 2013 U23 World Champion (doubles)… 2009 World Junior Bronze Medallist (doubles.)
Zina Kocher(13 of19)
Sport: BiathlonBorn: 12/05/1982Age: 31Hometown: Red Deer, AlbertaZina made history during 2006-07 when she captured the bronze medal in the 15km individual event in Oestersund, Sweden. Since then, she's gone on to become the first Canadian biathlete to win an international medal in more than a decade. Kocher has competed at every world championship dating back to 2003.
Arianne Jones(14 of19)
Sport: LugeBorn: 09/21/1990Age: 23Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaArianne Jones is set to make her Olympic debut at Sochi 2014. Jones has been on the World Cup circuit since the 2010-11 season and has been the second-ranked Canadian woman behind Alex Gough for three straight years.
Atsuko Tanaka(15 of19)
Sport: Ski JumpingBorn: 01/25/1992Age: 22Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaAtsuko's dream to be in the Olympics began the day the IOC announced in April 2011 women’s ski jumping event would be included on the program at Sochi 2014. Her accomplishments include 2006 World Junior silver medallist, two-time Continental Cup winner and Grand Prix bronze medallist
Chris Robanske(16 of19)
Sport: SnowboardBorn: 12/30/1989Age: 24Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaChris is ready to make his Olympic debut in Sochi after a long recovery from several accidents including a broken ankle and fractured vertebrae. His 2012-2013 season included a pair of World Cup podiums including his first World Cup victory.
Danielle Wotherspoon-Gregg(17 of19)
Sport: Speed SkatingBorn: 04/13/1980Age: 33Hometown: Red Deer, AlbertaAnother speed skater from the Wotherspoon/Gregg clan, Danielle is the newest Olympian member to the speed skating family. There's no doubt her mom and dad, both speed skaters, as well as her husband, brother and two sisters-in-laws - all Olympians - will have some words of advice for her.
Daria Gaiazova(18 of19)
Sport: Cross-country skiingBorn: 12/24/1983Age: 30Hometown: Banff, AlbertaOriginally from Russia, Daria has had the unique experience of competing at two straight ‘home’ Olympic Winter Games. She made to debut at Vancouver 2010, and will return to her home country for this year's games. Her performance has been consistent on an international level, improving every year and becoming a stronger member for Team Canada.
Roz Groenewoud(19 of19)
Sport: Freestyle SkiingBorn: 12/10/1989Age: 24Hometown: Calgary, AlbertaA powerhouse in the freestyle skiing world, Roz made her Winter X Games debut in 2008 and has gradually move up the ranks, finishing third in both 2010 and 2011. Shortly after the 2012 death of her friend and fellow competitor Sarah Burke, wearing a red ‘Sarah’ sticker on her helmet, Roz performed the biggest air of the competition at the Winter X Games and won gold with an X Games record score of 93.66.
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