Jennifer Heil facts for kids
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Heil with her 2010 Winter Olympics silver medal
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| Disciplines | Freestyle skiing, Moguls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | April 11, 1983 Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada |
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| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | May 12, 1999 (age 16) |
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| Retired | 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 3 (2002–2010) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 2 (1 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 5 (2001, 2005-2011) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 6 (4 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 9 (2001–2002, 2004–2007, 2009–2011) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 58 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 1 (2007) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 6 - 5x Moguls (2004-2007, 2010), 1x Dual Moguls (2007) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Jennifer Heil (born April 11, 1983) is a famous Canadian freestyle skier from Spruce Grove, Alberta. She started skiing when she was just two years old. Jennifer made history by winning Canada's first gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. She also won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which was Canada's first medal at those games too.
Jennifer once held a Guinness World Record for winning the most gold medals at a World Championship. She has won four world championship titles and two silver medals from these events. Throughout her amazing career, Jennifer became the first mogul skier to achieve a "Grand Slam." This means she won all the major titles in her sport. She also tied a record by winning five overall FIS World Cup Crystal Globe titles. Jennifer is now part of the Canadian Order of Sport, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, and the Pantheon des Sports du Québec. She is known as the most successful female skier in Canadian history.
Jennifer is also known for her leadership outside of skiing. She has helped improve sports and public safety. She even helped create a safe sport framework in British Columbia. Jennifer also co-founded B2ten, an organization that helps athletes succeed. She has received many awards for her leadership, including the Meritorious Service Decorations from the Governor General of Canada.
Jennifer supports several charity groups, like the "Because I am a Girl" program by Plan International. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, she gave a large donation to this program. She helped start a fundraising goal of one million dollars. This effort helped educate over 630,000 girls and women.
Contents
Career Highlights
Starting Her Skiing Journey
Jennifer Heil competed in her first Olympics at the 2002 Winter Olympics when she was only 18. She finished fourth in the moguls event, just barely missing a bronze medal. After taking a season off due to an injury, she came back strong. She won the World Cup in 2003–04, 2004–05, and 2005–06.
Then, at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Jennifer won Canada's first gold medal. This was a huge win for Canada on the very first day of the competition. After the Olympics, she continued her success. She finished the season by winning her fourth straight World Cup title.
Helping Other Athletes with B2ten
Jennifer Heil trained very hard for the Olympic Games. She worked daily with a top sports psychologist, a strength trainer, and an athletic therapist. After winning in 2006, Jennifer wanted to help other Canadian athletes get the same support she had.
She worked with JD Miller and her coach, Dominick Gauthier, to create B2ten. This organization has now raised millions of dollars. It has supported hundreds of athletes in both summer and winter Olympic Games.
The 2010 Vancouver Olympics
Before the 2010 Winter Olympics, Jennifer Heil won her last four World Cup events. She decided not to compete in the final event before the Games. This gave other Canadian skiers a chance to qualify. The women's moguls qualifications started in tough weather. There was rain, sleet, and slush on the course.
Jennifer finished the qualification in second place. This meant she would ski second-to-last in the final round. In the final, Jennifer had a great and fast run. She was in first place with only one skier left to go. Jennifer watched as Hannah Kearney from the US took her final run. Kearney finished first, winning the gold medal and becoming the new Olympic champion.
Jennifer was very upset at first. She felt a lot of pressure to win the gold medal. Many reporters said she and the Canadian men's hockey team faced the most pressure at the Games. Jennifer was the defending Olympic champion and a favorite to win Canada's first gold medal on home soil. She later said, "there is no doubt that the pressure was beyond intense."
Her B2ten company was partly founded to help Canada win its first home gold medal. The honor of winning the first home-soil Olympic gold medal went to Alexandre Bilodeau the next day. Bilodeau was a B2ten athlete and Jennifer's training partner. The next day, Jennifer was seen celebrating her silver medal. She said she didn't lose the gold, but rather won the silver medal.
Many Canadians watched Jennifer compete. About 6.6 million people, with a peak of 8 million, tuned in to see her try to win gold. This was more viewers than the New Orleans Saints winning Super Bowl XLIV.
After her silver medal win, Jennifer said the 2010 Games would likely be her last. She wanted to win a third world championship in 2011. After that, she planned to focus on her life after skiing. She also said she would continue her work in philanthropy (charity). After the 2010 Olympics, Jennifer donated $25,000 to "Because I am a Girl" again. She said, "I’ve had the power in my hands to help and many young girls don’t have that same power." She and Alexandre Bilodeau encouraged others to give back.
Ending Her Skiing Career
In January 2011, Jennifer Heil officially announced her retirement. This was before the Canadian stop of the World Cup season in Calgary. She said, "I'm still at the top of my game, but for me I feel it's an important time to build on my future." She wanted to be as successful off the slopes as she had been on them.
Jennifer's next event was the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships 2011. In her last moguls final, she won her first-ever gold medal in that event. She had only won in dual moguls before. Jennifer was happy that the talk about her not having a moguls gold was over. On the last day of the World Championships, she competed in dual moguls. She reached the final and beat her young teammate Chloé Dufour-Lapointe. This win gave her a second gold medal at the competition. It was her third dual moguls title in a row. This meant Jennifer ended her career as a double world champion. Because of these wins, she was named the Canadian Press's female athlete of the year for 2011.
Life After Skiing
Jennifer Heil is the founder and CEO of RYA Health. This is a health technology company she started while studying at Stanford University. Jennifer also has degrees in management and political science from McGill University. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys surfing. She also works as a sports commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Images for kids
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Heil standing on the podium with the other women's moguls medalists
See also
In Spanish: Jennifer Heil para niños
