Mollie Jepsen

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Mollie Jepsen
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1999-09-17) September 17, 1999 (age 24)
West Vancouver, British Columbia
Height4 ft 8 in (142 cm)
Sport
CountryCanada
SportPara-alpine skiing
Coached byJean-Sebastien Labrie
Medal record
Women's para alpine skiing
Representing  Canada
Winter Paralympics
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Super Combined standing
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing Downhill standing
Silver medal – second place 2018 Pyeongchang Slalom standing
Silver medal – second place 2022 Beijing Giant slalom standing
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Pyeongchang Downhill standing
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Pyeongchang Giant slalom standing

Mollie Jepsen (born September 17, 1999) is a Canadian alpine skier.

Early life[edit]

Jepsen was born in West Vancouver, British Columbia without several fingers on her left hand. She learned to ski by the age of two and also took gymnastics classes.[1] Growing up, she attended West Vancouver Secondary which she graduated from in 2017.[2]

Career[edit]

She was influenced to start competitive skiing after watching the 2010 Winter Olympics and joined the Whistler Mountain Ski Club.[3] However, when she was 13 she tore her right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and again when she was 15.[1]

Despite this, she was selected to compete with Team Canada during the 2018–19 season.[4] Upon returning to British Columbia after partaking in Team Canada's summer training camp in Chile, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.[5] She qualified for the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, where she won her first gold medal in the super combined event.[6] She also won a silver medal in the slalom and two bronze medals in downhill and giant slalom.[7]

She was named the Female Para-Alpine Athlete of the Year at the Audi 2018 Canadian Ski Racing Awards[8] and the Best Female Athlete at the 2018 Canadian Paralympic Sport Awards.[9]

She won Canada's first gold, the gold medal in the women's downhill standing event at the 2022 Winter Paralympics held in Beijing, China.[10][11] She also won silver in the giant slalom and was honoured to be chosen to be Canada's flag carrier in the closing ceremonies. [12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Lungen, Paul (April 13, 2018). "MOLLIE JEPSEN – THE VANCOUVER SKIER WHO WON GOLD AT THE PARALYMPICS". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "Highlander Grad Off to Paralympics" (PDF). westvancouverschools.ca. March 1, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  3. ^ Prest, Andy (March 6, 2018). "West Vancouver teen races to Paralympic Games". nsnews.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  4. ^ "2018-19 ALPINE CANADA TEAM NOMINATIONS". alpinecanada.org. May 14, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  5. ^ "Mollie Jepsen: My Crohn's challenge". paralympic.org. January 7, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "Canadian roundup: Mollie Jepsen speeds to gold in alpine super combined". cbc.ca. March 12, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  7. ^ "JEPSEN WINS HER FOURTH MEDAL OF PARALYMPICS WITH SILVER IN WOMen's SLALOM". alpinecanada.org. March 18, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  8. ^ "Audi 2018 Canadian Ski Racing Awards presented by Helly Hansen Winners". sirc.ca. March 19, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  9. ^ "Mollie Jepsen named Best Female Athlete". paralympic.org. October 31, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  10. ^ Burke, Patrick (5 March 2022). "Slovakia's Farkašová wins first gold medal of Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Skier Mollie Jepsen speeds to Canada's 1st gold medal of Beijing Paralympics". CBC. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Mollie Jepsen named Canada's Closing Ceremony flag bearer for Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games | Canadian Paralympic Committee".

External links[edit]