Chemmy Alcott facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chemmy Alcott

Alcott in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Chimene Mary Alcott
Nickname(s)	Chemmy
Born	(1982-07-10) 10 July 1982 (age 43) Hove, East Sussex, England
Height	1.69 m
Sport
Country	Great Britain
Sport	Alpine skiing
Club	CDC Performance
Team	Team GB
Retired	March 2014
Medal record Women's Alpine skiing Representing United Kingdom Senior British National Alpine Ski Championship Titles Gold 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2002, 1999 Overall Gold 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2002 Downhill Gold 2009, 2008, 2007, 2003, 2002, 2001 Super G Gold 2009, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2002 Combined/S. Combined Gold 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002 Giant slalom Gold 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003 Slalom Junior British National Alpine Ski Championship Titles Gold 2002 Downhill Gold 2002 Super G Gold 2002, 2001 Giant slalom Gold 2002, 2001 Slalom European Youth Winter Olympic Festival Silver 1999 Super G Bronze 1999 Giant slalom

Chemmy Alcott, born Chimene Mary Alcott on July 10, 1982, is a famous English former alpine ski racer. She was known for competing in all five types of ski racing: downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom, and combined.

Chemmy took part in four Winter Olympic Games and seven World Championships. She won the Senior British National Champion title 7 times and the Overall British Ladies Champion title 8 times. Chemmy stopped competing internationally after the 2014 season.

Early Life and Skiing Start

Chemmy Alcott was born in Hove, England. She started skiing very young, at just 18 months old, during a family trip to France. She had her first race when she was three.

In 1993, Chemmy won a French ski championship. She joined the British Junior Alpine team in 1994. In 1995, she won the Sunday Times Junior Sportswoman of the Year award. From age 11 to 19, Chemmy traveled to New Zealand every British summer to train during their winter.

She was a very good athlete. She represented Richmond in dry slope skiing and played tennis at the London Youth Games. In 2011, she was added to the London Youth Games Hall of Fame.

When she was 11, Chemmy broke her neck in a skiing accident. She recovered with two vertebrae (bones in her spine) fused together. She still carries X-rays of this injury. Throughout her career, Chemmy had many injuries, including a broken neck, broken back, and broken ribs.

Ski Racing Career

Chemmy Alcott started her official FIS races in August 1997 in New Zealand. By the end of the 1997-1998 season, she had competed in the Junior World Championships and the British National Championships. There, she won a silver medal in giant slalom.

In 1998, she won the overall championship in the Australia/New Zealand Cup. The next winter, she won silver and bronze medals at the 1999 European Youth Olympics in Slovakia. In December 1999, Chemmy made her World Cup debut in Austria. She also became World Schools Champion in 1999 and won other championships in 2000.

At the 2001 Junior World Championships, Chemmy finished 8th in slalom. She also won the 2001 British Junior title and the Senior British super G title.

2002: Olympic Debut

At 19 years old, Chemmy was ranked among the top 10 skiers in the world for her age group. She also greatly improved her downhill ranking.

She made her Olympic debut in Salt Lake City, USA. She competed in all alpine events. Her best result was 14th place in the combined event.

Later that season, Chemmy returned to the Junior World Championships. She finished 4th overall, even ahead of famous skier Lindsey Vonn. In her last British Junior Championships, Chemmy won all the titles. She also won British Senior titles in giant slalom, super-G, and downhill, claiming her first Overall Senior crown.

2003: First World Cup Points

In March 2003, Chemmy scored her first World Cup points. She finished 27th in a giant slalom event in Austria.

At the British National Championships in France, Chemmy won the slalom title for the first time. She ended up winning all the discipline titles that year.

2004: Top 10 Finish

During the 2004 World Cup season, Chemmy often finished in the top 30. She placed 11th in a super G race in Canada, less than 1.5 seconds behind the winner.

In January 2004, Chemmy achieved her first top 10 result. She finished 9th in a downhill race in Italy. This was the best result for a British woman in over 30 years. However, a knee injury meant Chemmy could not defend her British titles.

2005: More British Titles

At the 2005 World Championships in Italy, Chemmy finished 19th in downhill, 22nd in super-G, and 35th in giant slalom.

At the British National Championships in France, Chemmy again won the downhill, super-G, and slalom titles. She also won the Overall Championship trophy for the third time.

2006: Torino Olympics

At the Torino Winter Olympic Games, Chemmy finished 11th in the downhill. This was the best Olympic performance by a British female skier since 1968. She was disqualified from the combined event because her skis were too narrow. She also finished 19th in super-G and 22nd in giant slalom.

In the World Cup, Chemmy had seven top 30 results. Her best was 12th place in a super-G race in Austria.

At the British Championships, Chemmy won the slalom and giant slalom titles. The downhill race was canceled due to bad weather.

2007: Career Best Result

After the Olympics, Chemmy's mother passed away suddenly. Chemmy took some time away from skiing.

During her break, Chemmy had surgery on her feet. Her recovery took longer after she re-broke her left foot in a fall.

Chemmy started the 2007 season with two 13th-place finishes in downhill races. She then had an 11th-place finish in super-G. This was followed by a 7th-place finish in a combined competition in Austria, which was her best result so far. Chemmy also finished 9th in a downhill race and had four top 20 results in giant slalom. This allowed her to compete in her first World Cup Finals, where she placed 15th in giant slalom.

At the British Alpine Championships in France, Chemmy won all four titles: downhill, super G, giant slalom, and slalom.

2008: Another Overall Title

Chemmy had a less successful 2008 World Cup season, except for a few good finishes. She placed 16th and 17th in downhill and combined events, and 16th in a giant slalom race.

At the British Championships in France, Chemmy won the downhill, super-G, giant slalom, and slalom titles. She also took the Overall title for the fifth time.

2009: Injury and Return

Chemmy finished 10th in the first giant slalom race of the season in Austria. However, she broke her ankle during training for the next race in Canada. This kept her out of action for three months. When she returned, Chemmy finished 15th in giant slalom and 21st in super-G.

At the 2009 World Championships, Chemmy finished 21st in super-G. She placed 19th overall in the combined event and 15th in the downhill race. She finished 29th in giant slalom after falling in the second run.

Chemmy won all five races at the British National Championships: downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined titles.

2011: Major Injury

Chemmy suffered a double fracture in her right leg when she crashed during training in December 2010. Because of this, she missed the entire 2011 skiing season.

2012: Dancing on Ice

In early 2012, Chemmy competed in the TV show Dancing on Ice with professional skater Sean Rice. They finished fifth in the competition.

2018: Broadcasting and Slalom Race

In February 2018, Chemmy beat Graham Bell in a head-to-head slalom race for BBC's Ski Sunday. In November, she was interviewed by The Telegraph about women in skiing.

Broadcasting Career

When Chemmy was injured at the start of the 2009 World Cup season, she joined Matt Chilton as a guest commentator for women's World Cup events on British Eurosport.

Chemmy also appeared on Channel 4's World Cup Skiing show. She had a regular segment called Fit to Ski, where she showed different exercise techniques.

In 2018, she was part of the BBC's team covering the 2018 Winter Olympics. Chemmy shared that working with Clare Balding was an amazing experience.

Personal Life

In June 2008, Chemmy climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with other ski racers and her boyfriend at the time, Mark Weaver. The climb raised money for the charity Right to Play.

As of January 2009, she lived in Hampton Court, England. Chemmy also loves motor sports. She has a racing license and competed in the 2012 Silverstone Classic Celebrity Challenge race.

In October 2013, the BBC reported that Chemmy was going to marry her boyfriend, fellow alpine ski racer Dougie Crawford. They married in 2014. She now uses the name Chemmy Crawford-Alcott.

CDC Performance

CDC Performance, also known as CDC (Chemmy Duggie Crawford), is an alpine ski team mainly for children. They host ski camps for different types of races.

Images for kids

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  Olympic Games